The BJP on Monday termed Congress farm loan waiver in five States a hoax and said the latter was asking nationalized banks to bear the burden thus incurred.
Addressing a Press conference here, Union Minister and senior BJP leader Prakash Javadekar alleged that going back on promises was not a new habit for the Congress. He said there was no loan waivers of farmers’ debt in five states of Karnataka , Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. In Karnataka the total debt is Rs 45,000 crore but even Rs 75 crore is not allotted in the budget. Karnataka Government, he claimed has asked nationalized banks to bear the burden of farm debt which banks have refused saying it was a public money which could not be used for waving off loans.
Javadekar said the forms meant to be filled to get loan waver have 52 conditions and even 15 per cent of farmers were not illegible for it. He claimed 397 farmers have committed suicide in Karnataka in last six months under the Congress-JD(S) rule.
Similarly, the BJP leader said Punjab has a debt of Rs 90,000 crore but the sanctioned amount in the budget was only Rs 3,000 crore. Congress has “fooled” farmers in the five States, said Javadekar. “The Congress is anti-farmers. It has duped ryots in the name of waiving their loans,” he said.
To aggravate the problems of the farmers, Banks, he said are demanding farmers pay-back their debts and have been served notices by banks.
