Vijayendra Asks Rahul Gandhi To Oppose State Government's Approach, Support Farmers

Haveri: BJP state president BY Vijayendra on Thursday sought to put the Congress high command on the defensive over the proposed land acquisition in Bidadi, urging Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi to intervene and oppose the government's approach and stand with the farmers.

Addressing reporters here, Vijayendra questioned Rahul Gandhi's silence on the issue and said Rahul Gandhi should visit Karnataka, stand with the farmers and reassure them.

"Where is Rahul Gandhi when Karnataka's farmers are facing such a serious issue? He is seen in photo ops in various places in the country and outside. He had undertaken the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Today he should condemn the stand of his government and Chief Minister. I request him through the media to come to Karnataka, stand with the farmers, give them confidence and assure that their interests are protected, not just in Bidadi but across the state," Vijayendra said.

"The farmers themselves have made it clear that they will not part with their land. Despite this, the government has constituted a committee, which means the state government wants to continue with the project. There is no need for such a committee," he said.

Alleging that farmers in Bidadi had complained of being threatened by "goons" at night, Vijayendra said the Chief Minister was publicly claiming that land would be acquired only with the consent of landowners while the situation on the ground was different. He further stated that the people alleged that the Chief Minister and his relatives owned thousands of acres of land in Bidadi.

"If the government ignores the farming community, it will have to face the curse of the farmers," he warned.

Objecting to reports that Karnataka's proposed second international airport could come up near Kanakapura, Vijayendra said he would write to the Chief Minister urging that the project be shifted to the Tumakuru region instead. He said adequate government land was available there and argued that an airport near Tumakuru would benefit central and north Karnataka by attracting industries, generating employment and improving regional connectivity.

He alleged that locating the airport near Kanakapura to serve "real estate interests" of the Chief Minister would be unacceptable. "A Chief Minister should function for the development of Karnataka and not as a real estate agent," he remarked.

The BJP president also announced that the party would launch agitations at the gram panchayat level across the state over alleged irregularities in the implementation of the Gruha Lakshmi scheme.

Turning to law and order, Vijayendra said the BJP had organised protests against what it termed the Congress government's "anti-Hindu" policies. He alleged that incidents of attacks on Hindus had increased since the Congress came to power and accused the government of pursuing minority appeasement politics that had emboldened communal elements.

On the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Vijayendra said BJP workers across Karnataka had accepted the exercise as a challenge and were actively participating in the voter list revision despite what he described as attempts by the state government to create obstacles. He also criticised the government's alleged move to issue Permanent Resident Certificates (PRCs) to illegal immigrants and said senior BJP leaders had submitted a memorandum to the Governor on the issue.

Referring to the drought situation, Vijayendra said farmers across Karnataka were facing severe hardship and criticised the government for not appointing an Agriculture Minister even now. He said merely sitting in Bengaluru, seeking reports and writing to the Prime Minister would not solve the crisis and demanded that the Chief Minister send ministers to the districts to assess the situation firsthand and formulate relief measures.