Hubballi: Farmers of the Malaprabha river basin have decided to call a bandh in all cities that Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits to campaign for the coming state assembly poll to draw his attention to their suffering while the Mahadayi river dispute prolongs with Goa.
Dismissing the BJP’s claim that the Congress party was instigating them to agitate on the issue, they said they would support the saffron party only if it called for similar bandhs in districts that AICC president Rahul Gandhi visited in the state for his campaigning.
“Our movement is not politically motivated. We are demanding Mr Narendra Modi’s intervention as he is in power at present. We would have launched similar agitations against Rahul Gandhi if he was in power. It is high time the Congress government in the state brought pressure on the Centre to intervene in the issue instead of joining or supporting our agitation,” said farmer leader, Vikas Soppin.
While acknowledging that political parties in Goa may not give in even after Mr Modi’s intervention, he said the farmers merely wanted him to demonstrate political will to solve the crisis by taking the first step to hold a meeting with all parties of the three states concerned.
The farmers also hit out at state BJP leaders for failing to stop the Centre from allowing Additional Solicitor-General of India, Atmaram Nadkarni to appear on behalf of the Goa government in the Mahadayi dispute.
Some of the farmers were sceptical about the motives of the Kannada activists in calling Thursday's state-wide bandh on the issue. “We are ready to support bandh calls in the interest of farmers. But pro-Kannada activists are merely out to claim credit for helping to resolve the dispute. (Kannada actist) Vatal Nagaraj should have taken all farmers leaders’ into confidence before calling the bandh,” insisted Kalasa Banduri Horata Samiti president, Vijay Kulkarni.
