Hyderabad: Sirpur MLA Palvai Harish Babu on Monday launched an indefinite hunger strike demanding the withdrawal of Government Order No. 49 and a permanent resolution to the PODU farmers’ issue.
Harish Babu began his fast at his residence in Kumurambheem district. Several BJP leaders visited him and pledged support to the protest.
BJP leaders back Harish Babu’s protest over the PODU farmers’ issue
Addressing his supporters, the MLA accused the Congress government of neglecting the hardships faced by PODU farmers. He claimed that farmers in Dinda village, Chintalamanepalli mandal, were warned of criminal cases if they took out a padayatra. Calling it a blatant injustice, he said the government was stifling peaceful protests.
He also slammed the police action in Kaghaznagar, where several protestors were detained near the Forest Department office. Harish Babu called it an attack on democratic rights.
Questioning the state’s inconsistency, he asked how forest permissions were granted in Mulugu, represented by Minister Seethakka, while farmers in other districts faced restrictions. He vowed to continue his fast until the government withdrew GO 49 and addressed the long-pending demands of PODU cultivators.
