Ramnagar: Brushing aside protests by farmers' bodies spearheading the Cauvery
agitation, Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna on October 9 continued his march to
Mandya and Mysore districts but cut it short by two days.
After a meeting with his senior ministerial colleagues on October 8 night, Krishna
decided not to yield to the demand of farmers' committee in his home district of
trouble-hit Mandya to call off the march.
Krishna would however terminate his pada yatra on October 12, two days ahead of the
original schedule, KPCC president Allum Veerabhadrappa told reporters as the Chief
Minister set off for Channapatna.
He said Krishna would address a rally in Mandya on October 12 and travel by road to
the KRS reservoir in the district.
Veerabhadrappa said there was no reason to withdraw the yatra as there was no law
and order problem in Mandya district and the state government had also suspended
release of water to Tamil Nadu. Apprehensions about law and order problem because of
the yatra were far fetched, he said.
Official sources said Kannada thespian Rajkumar is likely to take part in the yatra
on any of the next two days.
Krishna began his gruelling 129-km pada yatra from Bangalore on October seven on a
mission he said was to restore peace and to instill confidence in farmers that the
government was with them.
Opposition parties have strongly attacked the yatra as a political gimmick to cover
up government's lapses and the farmers body leading the stir had on October 8 asked
Krishna to call off the yatra, saying it would divide people along political lines.
PTI
