Bengaluru: Former Prime Minister and JD(S) chief HD Deve Gowda has always called himself a proud "son of the soil".
The 86-year-old political stalwart was born into a poor farmer family who would graze cattle and work on paddy and ragi fields before becoming an MLA in 1962.
Following his footsteps, Deve Gowda’s son and Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy transformed himself into a farmer, but only for a day on Saturday.
To send across the message that he stands with the farmers of Karnataka, Kumaraswamy got down to plant rice saplings on a field in Mandya district. Dressed in a dhoti and a half-sleeved shirt, he entered a paddy field at Seethapura village in Pandavapura taluk, much to the amazement of locals.
About 150 local farmers and JD(S) workers accompanied him. The Karnataka chief minister even shared a vegetarian lunch with the farmers near the paddy field and talked about rain, crops, price, farm loans and other issues.
After the brief interaction, Kumaraswamy went on to assure the farmers of all help from his government. Speaking to the media, Kumaraswamy said, "I am a farmer. My father HD Deve Gowda and mother Channamma started off as poor farmers. I have seen the suffering of farmers. I used to work on paddy fields when I was young. I am doing this after 25 years, but want to do it every year."
He also added that he would be visiting all 30 districts in Karnataka in the next two months and interact with the farmers.
The chief minister further defended Karnataka government’s Rs 40,000 crore loan waiver, saying the farm sector is in distress.
Opposition BJP has, however, dismissed Kumaraswamy's day out as a “farmer”, calling it yet another political gimmick.
State BJP chief, BS Yeddyurappa and Union Minister Ananth Kumar questioned his commitment towards the farmers.
JD(S) Karnataka President H Vishwanath has countered the BJP, saying Kumaraswamy is instilling faith in the minds of farmers unlike the BJP, which is busy dividing the nation.
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