JD(S) to petition Governor on 'anti-farmer' amendments to acts

The JD(S) on Friday decided to petition the Karnataka Governor on the state government's "anti-farmer" amendments to acts, days after threatening a state-wide agitation on the issue.

"We have convened a meeting of our party MLAs, defeated candidates and district presidents at the party office on August 4 to discuss details about protests against the anti-farmer amendments by the state government," former Prime Minister and JD(S) leader H D Deve Gowda was quoted as saying by his office in a release.

He said they had also decided to hold a separate meeting with presidents of JD(S) taluk units later at the party office. "On all these matters, we will also write a letter to honourable Governor," he said. The party would also bring to the Governor's notice, the state government not convening the assembly session, he said.

Gowda had on Tuesday threatened to launch a state-wide stir against the amendments to the Karnataka Land Reforms Act and had demanded its immediate rollback. He had also spoken against amendments to the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC)

Act. Principal opposition Congress too has planned protests, along with some farmers organisations, demanding withdrawal of the Karnataka Land Reforms (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020, that liberalises agricultural land ownership.

Gowda further said there was no need to unnecessarily create an issue by dropping lessons on Tipu Sultan from school textbooks and added that the government must take a decision that is acceptable to all.

"There are many residential schools in the name of Tipu in Gulbarga, Bijapur, Srirangapatna, Ramanagara, Dharwad. When government opened those residential schools there was no opposition," he said.

Chapters on controversial 18th century Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan and his father Haider Ali were among those dropped from the class 7 Social Science test books, following the Karnataka government's decision to reduce syllabi for 2020-21 due to Covid-19 pandemic.

However, the government subsequently asked the Karnataka Textbook Society (KTBS) to put on hold the trimmed syllabus of books that omitted chapters on Tipu Sultan, following criticism from various quarters.

On BJP leader and MLC C P Yogeshwar's charge that his son and former Chief Minister H D Kumarswamy was indulging in "adjustment politics", Gowda said, "there is no need for Kumaraswamy to do so.

"...Is there any proof for the allegation made by him? Politicians should not simply talk about anyone lightly." Yogeshwar had yesterday alleged that the JD(S) leader was trying to "adjust" with the government for his political survival, referring to Kumaraswamy's recent outbursts against Congress.