Bengaluru: State BJP leaders supported party MLA and former Union Minister Basangouda Patil Yatnal, who is currently protesting against the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) for its refusal to allow the reopening of his sugar factory in Kalaburagi, despite a court order, reports New Indian Express.
R Ashoka, the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, stated that the state government and the board are preventing the factory from reopening, despite the High Court’s order.
Former Chief Minister and MP Basavaraj Bommai also echoed similar views. He accused the KSPCB of politically trying to demoralize Yatnal by not permitting the sugar factory. Bommai, after joining the protest staged by Yatnal, told reporters, “The law and justice seem to have lost their place in the state and a politics of hatred is taking over. Yatnal set up this sugar factory by following all legal requirements, but last year, the pollution control board denied it permission. After he took the matter to court, the court ordered the factory to be reopened within four weeks. Yet now, the board is refusing permission, citing technical reasons.”
“We will not allow this issue to be swept under the carpet. There are thousands of farmers dependent upon this factory, and since a sufficient quantity of sugarcane has been grown in the district this year, the factory should start work. The government speaks about industrialising North Karnataka but indulges in this kind of divisive politics,” Bommai added.
