Congress legislator asks Rahul Gandhi to review Karnataka farm land safeguards

Senior Congress legislator B.R. Patil has written to party leader Rahul Gandhi seeking intervention to restore safeguards governing the purchase and holding of agricultural land in Karnataka. Patil’s appeal follows Chief Minister D.K.

Shivakumar’s statement in the Assembly that there was no proposal before the government to reinstate sections 79-A, 79-B and 79-C of the Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961. The provisions, introduced in 1974, restricted non-agriculturalists from buying agricultural land in the State. They were repealed by the previous BJP government in 2021, a decision the Congress had opposed.

Patil cited data presented by Shivakumar in response to his Assembly question showing that 19.97 lakh acres of agricultural land had been sold since the repeal. He said the issue involved the amount of land available for cultivation, small and marginal farmers, the rural economy and long-term food security. In his letter, Patil called for a policy review within the Congress and urged the State government to conduct a comprehensive review of amendments to the land reforms law.

He also sought a clear roadmap for restoring appropriate safeguards. Farmer leader Badagalpura Nagendra said Shivakumar had promised before the 2023 Assembly elections to support reinstating the provisions. He described the government’s current position as a reversal and warned of a statewide agitation if the Congress failed to fulfil its manifesto commitment.

Asked about Patil’s letter, Shivakumar said the matter would be examined. The supplied material did not indicate whether the government had begun a formal process to change the law.