‘No government cared so much for farmers’

Bangalore: Dismissing allegations made by the opposition that his government was more focused on rolling out programmes like ‘Bidaayi’ for unmarried women and school tour programmes for Ahinda children and had neglected the farming sector, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said no government in the past had done as much as his government had for farmers.

“We have never neglected this sector or delayed our intervention whenever it was needed,”said the chief minister during a media interaction here on Sunday.

Siddaramaiah was replying to a spate of queries on the suicide of a sugarcane farmer in Belgaum and more recently, that of a tobacco farmer in Mysore.

When his attention was drawn to the fact that several sugar factories owned by ministers and MLAs owe dues to sugarcane growers, Siddaramaiah replied: “An Act making it compulsory for sugar factory owners to pay dues within two weeks of the purchase of sugarcane, has come into effect this year. We will not spare anyone.

“First we will talk to them (sugar factories) and try to convince them to pay up. We will then initiate legal action if they hold back dues.”

Reacting to the co-operation given by the opposition JD(S) in restoring order in the legislature last week and former chief minister and Karnataka Janata Party president B.S. Yeddyurappa’s protests, Siddaramaiah said one need not attach much importance to the JD(S) conduct on the floor of the House.

“They (JD-S) wanted a debate, so they co-operated with the government. As for Yeddyurappa, if he wants to indulge in politics, we are also capable of doing the same.”

He said the KJP and BJP did not want the legislature to function smoothly and so created problems during the session. The chief minister further said that the winter session at Belgaum had so far witnessed meaningful debates and slammed reports that not much had been done during the session.