Karnataka farmers to hold tractor rally on Republic Day

Bengaluru: Taking a cue from the farmer's tractor agitation in Delhi, various associations of ryots in Karnataka have geared up for a similar rally here on the occasion of the Republic Day on Tuesday.

The agitation was to compel the Centre as well as the state government to repeal the contentious farm laws passed last year, association leaders said.

"Our struggle will be peaceful. Our objective is limited to conveying our message to the government and the people of the state," Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha president Kodihalli Chandrashekar told reporters here.

According to him, 500 to 1,000 tractors are likely to participate in the rally.

While it was not clear whether police have accorded permission for the rally, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa had on Sunday said in Shivamoga that in a democracy everybody has a right to protest peacefully.

Chandrashekar said there was no confusion about holding the event on Tuesday and expressed hope police would not interrupt them.

Farmers, especially from Punjab and Haryana, have been protesting at the borders of Delhi for two months, demanding repeal of the laws and would take out a tractor rally on Tuesday as part of their agitation.