Loan waiver ploy of 'anti-farmer' BJP: Congress

Launching a scathing attack at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress on 20 may accused the former of deceiving farmers in the guise of granting loan waiver.

"The BJP government has completed its three years in office on May 16. The bitter truth of these three years is that the BJP has betrayed the farmers. The famers are left with no other option than suicide. The Modi government has put the future of farmers'children at stake. The anti-farmer government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is responsible for the farmers' plight and their deaths," Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said at a press briefing here.

Blaming the central government's poor policies for the farmers' suicide, Surjewala further questioned the BJP as to why they discriminated between poor farmers and industrialists in waiving off loans.

"Around 35 farmers commit suicide every day in this nation. It means every year 12,065 farmers commit suicide because of poor policies and negligence of the government. On the other hand they waive off the debts of their selective industrialists friends. But Prime Minister Modi rejects farmers' plea. If Modi government can waive off the loan worth Rs.1.54 crore of their industrialists friends then why can't they do the same for the poor farmers. We want to ask this question," he added.

Asserting that the loan waiver announced by the Yogi Adityanath- led Uttar Pradesh government is mere a ploy, Surjewala targeted the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister while demanding his clarification on the same.

"The BJP government tried to woo people of Uttar Pradesh by announcing to waive off farmers' loan. It is a mere a ploy by the Adityanath government. We came to know that 60 percent of the farmers have not taken any loan from commercial or rural banks. They took loan from moneylenders and therefore they didn't get any relief. We have demanded the UP government to release a white paper on the loan waiver granted to farmer," Surjewala said.

He further said that the private companies were the ones who earned huge profit through the Centre's 'Fasal Beema Yojana' where as farmers were left with empty hands.

"The central government has deceived the farmers and the Uttar Pradesh government is doing the same. The BJP government had promised to buy eight million tonnes of wheat in UP before coming in power. So far, only seven lakh tonnes of wheat has been bought by the government," he added.

He also cornered Adityanath for his recent address in the Parliament saying that, "When the ruler becomes arrogant then destruction is near. Yogi should know in his limit."

The Uttar Pradesh Government earlier on April 4 announced to waived off Rs. 30, 729 crore worth loan amount of the small and marginal farmers of the state.

Along with this, the government has also decided to forego Non-Performing Assets (NPA) worth Rs. 5,630 crore of eight lakh farmers.

"Uttar Pradesh has 2, 30,00,000 farmers. We have waived off Rs. 30, 729 crore loan amount of the farmers," Cabinet Minister Siddharth Nath Singh told the media here.

Cabinet Minister Shrikant Sharma said that the government has decided to keep a target of 80 lakh tonnes of wheat purchase.

"All the district Magistrates (DMs) have been instructed to purchase more where there is more produce," Sharma said.

Also, 7,000 purchase centres would be opened in the state.

Singh also intimated that the government would introduce 'farmer bond' for the welfare of the farming community.

-ANI