BS Yeddyurappa, BJP leaders staged Dharna against JSW land deal in Bangalore

Bangalore: BJP Karnataka chief BS Yeddyurappa and other BJP leaders staged a protest against Jindal South West (JSW) Steel land deal, on Saturday.

"The decision has already been taken to sell the JSW land and everybody knows their intention behind this deal. We will continue with the dharna today and tomorrow as well," he told ANI.

Another party leader, Shoba Karandlaje, MP, said the state government was not at all bothered about farmer's problem. Karnataka was facing severe drought problem but the government was not even releasing the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Fund (HDRF) funds from central government, she said.

She also added that the state government has decided to give approximately 3,000 acres of land to JSW which is a rich iron ore field but they have not done anything for the poor farmers.

The Karnataka Cabinet recently decided to execute the absolute sale of land to JSW Steel, which is based out of Vijayanagar in Ballari district in the state.

According to the decision, the lease of 3,667 acres to JSW Steel would be converted into a permanent sale in accordance with the initial agreement.

This issue has created a furore in the opposition camp with the BJP alleging that the government would get kickback after the finalization of the deal.