Farmers led by Nallamada Rythu Sangham on Thursday staged a sit-in in front of multinational PepsiCo plant at Tummalapalem village in Guntur district demanding immediate withdrawal of cases slapped by the company against farmers in Gujarat.
PepsiCo has sued farmers in Gujarat asking them to pay ₹1.05 crore each as damages for ‘infringing its rights’ by growing the potato variety used in its brand ‘Lays’ chips.
“PepsiCo’s intention is to threaten the Indian farmers and make this as a precedent. We condemn the action of filing a suit against our brothers who are toiling to feed the Indian people,’’ said Kolla Rajamohan, president of Nallamada Rythu Sangham. The organisation started with the demand to expand the Nallamada drain and later grew into a movement to protect the interest of farmers and led pro-farmer movements against the powerful fertilizer and seed companies.