Other than issuing statements demanding their release, none from the Karnataka cabinet have reached out to the farmers detained in MP.
Karnataka farmers were detained on their arrival to Ujjain on Tuesday morning. (supplied)
The Madhya Pradesh police transferred farmers from to the outskirts of Ujjain on Tuesday, 13 February, a day after keeping them under detention in Bhopal.
Karnataka’s farmers continue to be under detention by Madhya Pradesh police despite Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah raising a demand for their immediate release on Monday.
The farmers continue to be under preventive custody, for the last 36 hours, but in different cities.
Madhya Pradesh Police not only denied permission to the farmers to travel to Delhi but also moved all detained farmers from Bhopal to Ujjain on Tuesday morning
Meanwhile, the Karnataka government has spoken with its counterparts in Madhya Pradesh for the immediate release of over 100 farmers including 30 women, claimed sources in the Chief Minister Office (CMO).
Bhopal police detained the Karnataka farmers while they were asleep in a train heading to Delhi to participate in the “Delhi Chalo” protest called by various farmer unions in the early hours of 13 February.
Around 100 farmers including 30 women from Karnataka staged a demonstration on Monday against the Union government and the Bhopal police for taking them under preventive custody at a private convention centre in Bhopal and restricting them from travelling to Delhi.
Bhopal Police detained Karnataka farmers travelling to Delhi and kept them under detention at a private convention centre for over 24 hours in Bhopal City on Monday.
While the farmer unions’ protest is underway in Delhi, the Madhya Pradesh Police took them to Ujjain on Tuesday morning and the local police have kept them under detention at a private convention hall on the outskirts of the city.
#MadhyaPradesh police take Karnataka farmers to Ujjain.
While #Karnataka farmers protested to allow them to head to Delhi from #Bhopal, the #MadhyaPradesh Police denied permission & are taking these agrarians to Ujjain in a train on Tuesday.
Around 100 farmers including 30… pic.twitter.com/WjT8kgKI9p
— South First (@TheSouthfirst) February 13, 2024
Karnataka State Sugarcane Growers’ Association’s Mysuru-Chamarajanagar district wing general secretary Baradanpura Nagaraj told South First on Tuesday: “The Madhya Pradesh police are yet to free us from their custody. We protested demanding to let us free in order to take part in the farmers’ protest at Delhi but they denied us permission.”
“They are not even providing us proper food and water since the detention. We had planned to visit Ayodhya, Mathura and other Hindu pilgrimages in North India after taking part in the Delhi Chalo protest.”
“After learning our tour plan, the Madhya Pradesh Police booked an entire compartment in a train and took us to Ujjain. As soon as we deboarded the train at Ujjain, the local police detained us and took us to a convention hall, which is around 6 km away from the city,” detailed Nagaraj.
Karnataka spoke with its counterpart in Madhya Pradesh
Meanwhile, Karnataka’s Chief Secretary Rajneesh Goel has reportedly held talks with his counterparts at Madhya Pradesh government on Tuesday.
Goel has demanded for the immediate release of the farmers, claimed sources in the CMO.
On anonymity, an official from CMO told South First: “The Karnataka Chief Secretary has held talks with the Madhya Pradesh Chief Secretary on the matter. The state CS is in constant touch with his counterpart demanding their immediate release.”
Even after over 36 hours of their detention, the Karnataka chief minister and ministers including the agriculture minister have been confined to issuing statements and none of them have reportedly spoken with the detained farmers since Monday.
When asked if any of Karnataka’s ministers or officials spoke with the farmers, Nagaraj said: “Congress veteran and Rajya Sabha member Digvijay Singh spoke with us over the phone and local party workers tried to free us from the police, which led to a minor altercation.”
“Apart from them none of the ministers or legislators or officials tried to contact us. We have not received any calls or messages from them. We saw their media statements but nothing concrete has happened since Monday,” dismayed Nagaraj.
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