Now,seer threatens fast over land acquisition in Karnataka

Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa met me three days ago and promised to withdraw the notification.

It8217;s a season of hunger strikes in Karnataka. After former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy,the pontiff of the Udupi Pejavar Mutt,Visvesha Thirtha Swami,one of the states most prominent religious leaders,threatened to go on a hunger strike on Tuesday over the acquisition of 2,035 acres of land for a special economic zone SEZ in Mangalore.

The religious leader,who is held in high esteem in the ruling BJP in Karnataka,has given Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa 24 hours to withdraw notifications for acquisition of land for an additional 2,035 acres over and above the 1,800 already acquired for an SEZ at Mangalore.

Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa met me three days ago and promised to withdraw the notification. But no action has been taken so far. If the notification is not withdrawn,I will launch an indefinite fast from tomorrow, the Pejavar seer said in a press statement.

Visvesha Thirtha Swami,who has earlier been at the forefront of opposition to a thermal power project in the coastal Nandikur region near Udupi,has likened the acquisition of fertile land at high compensation rates to forcible religious conversions with allurement.

He has proposed a statewide agitation against land acquisition.

The move comes close on the heels of the reports of opposition parties like the Janata Dal-Secular starting a battle for the land rights of farmers,especially in the case of acquisition of over 3,000 acres for a Posco steel plant in Mundargi in Gadag district of Karnataka.

JDS leader H D Kumaraswamy,after his 28-hour hunger strike demanding a probe into the allegations made against his family,announced on Tuesday that he was planning to visit areas around the state where fertile farm land was being acquired for industrial purposes starting with the Posco project.

The BJP government has initiated steps to acquire about 1,80,000 acres of fertile agricultural land from poor farmers all over Karnataka under the guise of capital investment and industrial development, the JDS said in a memorandum given to Governor H R Bhardwaj on July 11,indicating the launch of a statewide agitation against land acquisition.