Terming the move of the State government to seize sugar mills belonging to the Ministers as a drama, the former Chief Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) State president, H.D. Kumaraswamy, said that such measures would not help sugarcane growers get their long-pending dues.

The government should first pay the cane growers their dues from the State’s exchequer and then recover it from the mill owners, he added. He was speaking to presspersons in Hubballi on Thursday before proceeding to Tadakod village in Dharwad to launch his ‘padayatra’ to Belagavi.

“After sleeping over the problem for two years, the State government is now saying it will seize the sugar mills for the fear of facing backlash during the legislature session. The drama will not fetch the farmers their dues. The government should first pay the farmers and then take action against the mill owners”, he added.

Reiterating that his padayatra was not meant for strengthening the party, the JD(S) State president claimed that it was meant to pressure the government to address issues related to farmers.

The padayatra was also a wake-up call for farmers to unite and fight for their rights. “If the government continues to be apathetic towards their problems, probably farmers will have to resort to another Naragund Bandaya-like agitation”, he said.