The Sampadak Express News Desk
Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy on Sunday said his party backs sugarcane growers’ “genuine” demands and that he will personally raise their concerns with Union Minister Pralhad Joshi. He spoke to reporters in Hassan on October 18, 2026, according to The Hindu.
Kumaraswamy said Joshi, the Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, had discussed the issue with the Union Agriculture Minister and constituted a committee to examine the farmers’ demands. The Union government is awaiting the panel’s report. “Let us see what the committee recommends,” he said.
Responding to assurances given by Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar to protesting sugarcane farmers, Kumaraswamy said he had expected immediate relief, noting the Chief Minister had visited demonstrators in Belagavi during the Dasara festivities. Instead, Shivakumar said he would convene a meeting of growers and factory owners after the festival. “Let us see what decisions he takes after the meeting,” Kumaraswamy said.
The former Chief Minister reiterated that he and his party would “always stand by farmers,” adding that during his tenure his government waived farm loans, including those taken from nationalised banks.
Kumaraswamy said the Union government would await the committee’s findings before taking further steps, and he would take up the matter directly with Joshi.
