ON December 12, 2021, a large farmers' assembly was held at Belagavi in Karnataka under the banner of the Samyukta Horata (united struggle), Karnataka, to celebrate the repeal of the three central farm laws and to put pressure on the BJP's Karnataka state government to repeal the three different anti-farmer farm laws that it forced through the state assembly last year. The Karnataka state assembly was meeting in Belagavi from December 13.

The Samyukta Horata is an umbrella platform of several organisations of farmers, agricultural workers, trade unions, dalit, adivasi, women, youth and student organisations in Karnataka. It has unitedly led many powerful agitations in Karnataka in the last one year in support of the nationwide farmers' struggle and also on burning state level issues. 

The three farm laws of the Karnataka government are: a law in the direction of greatly weakening the APMCs; extremely reactionary anti-farmer and pro-corporate amendments to the Land Reform Act of 1977 and the Anti-Cow Slaughter Act. The farmers' assembly demanded the immediate repeal of all these three laws. 

The farmers' assembly also attacked the Karnataka government for giving no compensation or any benefit of the PM crop insurance scheme to lakhs of farmers across the state whose crops had been destroyed in the recent unseasonal rains. It also raised the issue of denial of MSP to lakhs of farmers for paddy and also FRP for sugarcane. 

The farmers' assembly was inaugurated by AIKS president Ashok Dhawale. He explained the significance of the historic victory of the nationwide farmers’ struggle over corporate communalism, and congratulated the Samyukta Horata, Karnataka, for their massive and consistent support to this struggle. He attacked the BJP state government of Karnataka and also the three thoroughly reactionary farm laws that it had passed. He underlined that the nationwide struggle for a remunerative MSP and other just demands would continue throughout the country, and also for the repeal of these reactionary laws in Karnataka. 

The speaker of the farmers’ assembly was the renowned Kannada writer Allama Prabhu Bettaduru. The resolution of the assembly was placed by Badagalapura Nagendra, state president of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha. 

Among those who addressed the assembly were KPRS (AIKS) state vice president B S Soppin, S R Hiremath from Janandolanagala Mahamaitri, Mavalli Shankar from a dalit organisation, AIDWA state president Devi, Dr Prakash Kammareddi, ex-chairman of the State Agricultural Price Commission and several other farmer leaders. The resolution was unanimously adopted.