Farmers' party to field candidates

The Praja Pragati Ranga (PPR) party, floated by farmers in the state, will field its candidates in all the 224 constituencies during the ensuing elections to the Karnataka assembly.

Farmers’ leader Kodihalli Chandrashekar said here on Tuesday, the farmers were forced to launch the political outfit as the Congress, JD(S) and BJP which came to power in the name of farmers had failed to solve their problems.

The PPR would involve people from various organisations like the Dalit Sangharsha Samithi, Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, Lok Jan Shakti, BSP, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Hasiru Sene among others. “The PPR is holding talks with several farmers’ organisations in identifying leaders to be fielded. The final decision on preparing the election manifesto and choosing the candidates would be taken up during a meeting on December 5,” he explained.

A committee would be formed to scrutinise the list of candidates. Apart from highlighting the failures of all the three major political parties,the PPR would ask voters to give them an opportunity to bring in inclusive growth of the society,

Answering a query, he said, at present there is no chance of joining hands with any regional parties like KJP floated by former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa and the BSR Congress. However, the next move of the party would be decided after taking the opinions of the members, he said.

Chandrashekhar revealed that he has been invited to join the KJP and BSR Congress. But, he would take a final decision after the December 5 meeting.

Farmers to picket SVS
Accusing the state government of failing to fix a remunerative price for sugarcane, Chandrashekar said, the price of sugar had increased two-fold in last couple of years, but the sugar factories had not hiked the price given to the sugarcane growers. The government is bending to the pressure from the sugar factory owners and is causing more problems to the farmers, he alleged.

To exert more pressure on the State Government to fix Rs 3,000 per tonne of sugarcane, the farmers would be picketing the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha at Belgaum on December 5. The Cabinet sub-committee headed by agriculture minister Umesh Katti should immediately implement the State Advisory Price (SAP) for sugarcane and help the growers, he added.