Raitha Sangha plans to float political outfit

Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha will be revived and converted into a political outfit, said KRRS leader Kodihalli Chandrashekhar.

Speaking to reporters, he said the Sangha would field its candidates in at least 50 constituencies in the next election to the Assembly. The Sangha is also open to having tie-ups with political parties. A final decision would be taken at a later stage.

As a prelude to converting the sangha into a political party, KRRS will take out a Raitha Ratha Yatre in the last week of January. Later, in association with farmers’ organisations, it will take out yatre from Kanyakumari to New Delhi.

He opposed the FDI in the retail sector and also condemned the state government’s move to sign MoUs with multinational corporations for investment in agriculture.

Referring to chief minister Sadananda Gowda’s statement that the government had attracted an investment of Rs 1 lakh crore during the Global Investors Meet to the agriculture sector, Kodihalli said it would mean handing over a major portion of agricultural land to the global corporations.

He said the BJP, which was fighting FDI in the retail sector, should make its stand clear vis-à-vis foreign investment in the agriculture sector in Karnataka.

The record production of foodgrains in the country (260 million tonne) had not helped farmers as they were still caught in a debt trap, he added.