Sugarcane farmers protest: BJP leader asks Karnataka CM to quit if he can't govern
Bengaluru (PTI): Hitting out at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over farmers' protest in the northern districts of Karnataka, demanding a fair price of Rs 3,500 per tonne for sugarcane, BJP leader R Ashoka on Friday asked the CM to quit if he can't govern.
The Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly slammed the chief minister for blaming the Centre and asked him to address the concerns of the farmers.
"7 days, thousands of sugarcane farmers on the streets, but CM Siddaramaiah has just one solution: Blame the Centre," Ashoka said in a post on 'X'.
Pointing out that when in Opposition, Siddaramaiah gave big sermons, he said, "But now (as CM), he hides behind excuses and abandons farmers. If you (Siddaramaiah) can't govern, resign and quit."
Siddaramaiah, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, had said that the root of the problem lies in central policy levers: the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) formula, the stagnating Minimum Support Price (MSP) for sugar, export curbs and the under-utilised ethanol off take from sugar-based feedstock.
He has sought urgent appointment from the PM to discuss "the serious situation" arising out of the ongoing agitation.
Ashoka in the post further said, "We demand: Rs 500/tonne incentive above FRP, Rs 5,000 crore revolving fund, and Immediate intervention - not press conferences."
Farmers have been protesting at Gurlapur Cross in Mudalagi taluk of Belagavi district for over a week now. It has also spread across various parts of north Karnataka districts like Belagavi, Bagalkote, Vijayapura, Haveri among others.
With the protest intensifying, Siddaramaiah has called for a meeting with farmer leaders and representatives of sugar factories on Friday.
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Man sets fire to gas cylinder on truck in Kerala's Kottayam, held
Kottayam(Kerala) (PTI): A 33-year-old man climbed onto a parked truck carrying cooking gas cylinders and set fire to one of them near Thalayolaparambu in the small hours of Saturday, police said.
The incident occurred around 12.30 am, they said.
The fire and rescue personnel soon arrived at the scene and extinguished the fire, averting a major disaster.
According to police, the man is suspected to be under mental distress as he claimed that he was walking from Ernakulam to his home in Marangattupilly here when he saw the truck on the roadside.
An FIR under sections 329(3)(criminal trespass),324(2)(mischief),326(f)(mischief by injury, inundation, fire or explosive substance) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was lodged against him.
Police said that the man was formally arrested, but will be released on station bail as the offences he is accused of are bailable.
"His family is here at the station and he will be released to them," the officer said.
In the FIR, police have said that the man opened the seal of one of the gas cylinders and set fire to it with the knowledge that his act was dangerous to those living in the area.
According to the company transporting the cooking gas cylinders, it suffered a loss of Rs 2,300 in the incident.
