Bengaluru: Rejecting the special intensive revision (SIR) process, various farmers’ organisations Monday announced they will stage protests in all 31 districts of the state on Oct 23.The call comes after Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) urged farmers nationwide to hold protests demanding the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.“This is a fight of all citizens because once democracy is gone, then the other fights for minimum support prices (MSPs) or loan waiver have no meaning. Because voting is a fundamental right in a democracy, and that is what they are trying to snatch away from us. So, it is high time that we join this fight,” farmer rights activist Chukki Nanjundaswamy told a news conference Monday.The event was also attended by actor and activist Prakash Raj and various leaders of Dalit organisations. Badagalapura Nagendra, president, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS), criticised the “suppression” of peaceful protests in Delhi.They pointed out that the Union govt has become the “biggest threat” to the survival of farmers. “We all remember how it brought three farm laws to nurture Adani and Ambani. After 727 farmers were martyred during a historic 14-month-long struggle, the govt eventually apologised and accepted all our demands,” they said in a statement.The farmer groups also claimed that the Centre is the primary reason behind the sugarcane crisis in northern Karnataka. While the state govt is making at least some effort to respond, they said, the Centre is completely ignoring the issue and causing ruin to farmers.“Today, the central govt has transformed into not just anti-farmer, but anti-democracy as a whole,” they said.Along with SIR, the groups also demanded that Jantar Mantar should remain a site for public struggle and all cases against the young protesters must be withdrawn. The demonstrations will continue until all their demands are met, they said.
