After Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement on repealing three contentious farm laws, many writers, activists and academicians asked the Karnataka Government to withdraw the newly-amended Land Reforms Act and the APMC Act for the benefit of farmers.

The APMC Act removed restrictions on sale of farm produce and allowed private players to purchase agricultural commodities from farmers. However, farmers’ organisations termed the Act as ‘anti-farmer’ alleging that it aimed at clipping the powers of APMCs and permitted the entry of MNCs in the agricultural marketing sector. The amended Land Reforms Act removed income restrictions on purchase of agricultural land and permitted non-agriculturists to purchase agricultural land.

K.M. Marulasiddappa, Rajendra Chenni, Siddaling Pattana Setty, Vasudhara Bhupathi, B.K. Chandrashekar, Vijaya, Hi Shi Ramachandre Gowda, Kalegowda Nagavara, Rehmat Tarikere, Purushothama Bilimale, Shudra Srinivas, Neela K., Chandra Poojari, S.G. Siddaramaiah, K.S. Vimala and many others want the Karnataka Government to withdraw the Land Reforms Act and APMC Act, which were enacted in 2020.

In a joint statement, they said: “Prime Minister Modi’s announcement of withdrawal of the three draconian farm laws, was clearly a historic victory for the farmers. However, this does not mean that Mr. Modi genuinely regrets the enactment of these unjust laws, as the announcement comes just before elections in five States… The fact that farmers will not withdraw their protest until the laws are formally repealed by Parliament is an indication of how little they trust Mr. Modi’s words.”

They also demanded a statutory order ensuring Minimum Support Price for farm produce, and withdrawal of amendments to the Electricity Act.