Mysuru: JD(S) leader and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Friday accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of mishandling the farmers’ protest in Karnataka and attempting to shift the blame onto the Centre. He alleged that the Chief Minister let the issue escalate instead of taking prompt action.

Speaking to reporters, Kumaraswamy said the government appeared indifferent to farmers’ concerns and suggested that the CM might be succumbing to pressure from ministers who own sugar factories. The sugarcane farmers’ protest at Gurlapur Cross in Belagavi’s Mudalagi taluk entered its ninth day and has spread to several districts in north Karnataka, including Bagalkote, Vijayapura, and Haveri. Farmers are demanding a fair price of Rs 3,500 per tonne of sugarcane.

With the agitation intensifying, Siddaramaiah convened a meeting with farmer leaders and sugar factory representatives on Friday. Criticising the government, Kumaraswamy said, “I feel angry about this government on one hand, and also feel pity for their situation and the way in which they are running this government.” He questioned why Siddaramaiah, despite his extensive experience as a politician and administrator, had failed to resolve the issue sooner.

“This is not a decision that can be taken by calling a meeting of public representatives. According to me, this is a small matter, which can be decided by himself. They have allowed the small issue to grow big,” he said.

The union minister slammed Siddaramaiah for involving the Prime Minister by writing to him about the crisis. “Which state government has done it? Only Siddaramaiah gets the credit for it,” he remarked. Kumaraswamy added that during his own tenure as chief minister, he never blamed the Centre or sought the Prime Minister’s intervention in state-level farmer issues.

Siddaramaiah had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, saying that the crisis stemmed from central policy decisions, including the Fair and Remunerative Price formula, stagnant Minimum Support Price for sugar, export restrictions, and limited ethanol offtake. He sought an urgent meeting with the Prime Minister over “the serious situation” caused by the ongoing agitation.

Kumaraswamy accused Siddaramaiah of writing the letter merely to fix blame on the Centre and mislead the public about the state government’s failures. He said the CM knows the Prime Minister cannot directly intervene, as the Centre only sets the FRP, while states must decide on providing any additional support.

According to Kumaraswamy, the state has sufficient funds but lacks the will to help farmers. He also claimed that the government seemed more focused on protecting ministers who own sugar factories. “Almost all public representatives from Belagavi have sugar factories. Looking at the irresponsible way in which this government is conducting itself, more than protecting the farmers, they seem to be more interested in protecting the factories owned by public representatives,” he said.

With inputs from PTI