We fought for it: Opposition parties take credit for farm loan waiver

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah became the third chief minister waive off farm loan in the state, after H D Kumaraswamy and Jagadish Shettar. However, both of them had waived only Rs 25,000, while Siddaramaiah increased it to Rs 50,000. Also, Karnataka became the fourth state in the country to waive farm loan after Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab. While Punjab waived loans up to Rs 2 lakh, Uttar Pradesh declared waiver of Rs 1 lakh. Compared to them the State’s Rs 50,000 is small. This attracted former CM and State BJP president B S Yeddyurappa to comment that there was no need to wait so long for waiving such meager amount. Atleast Rs 1 lakh would have helped farmers, he said. He further said that the government took the sudden decision scared by the threat posed by BJP of agitation on July 10.

Former CM and JD(S) State president HD Kumaraswamy, while welcoming the decision said, the waiver should have been Rs 2 lakh like in other states.

Reacting to BSY’s statement, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said BJP has never been pro-farmers. They had fired at farmers during their term. Now, we have done our part. Let us all jointly bring pressure on the Centre to waive the rest Rs 42,000 crore farm loan. The burden on state exchequer by the farm loan waiver is to the tune of Rs 8,165 crore. However, Rs 50,000 waiver will give relief to a total 22,27,502 farmers in the State, the CM said, reports Kannada Prabha.

He also declared the statistics of farm loan: the combined farm loans of short term, mid term and long term amounts to Rs 1,16,606 crore. The short term crop loan amounts to Rs 52, 000 crore. The various banks and cooperatives in the State have given a total of Rs 10,736 crore loans to a total of 22,27,506 farmers. The Central Government has granted a total farm loan of Rs 42,000 crores, through nationalised and rural banks. Since majority of farm loan comes under Central government, the Chief Minister had requested it to waive at least half of the loan. However, the Central government is not showing its commitment to the farmers, CM said.

The Chief Minister also pointed out that though both Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra chief ministers have announced waiver, they have not yet passed the orders.

He also criticised the Governor of Reserve Bank, Urjit Patel, stating that though the Governor has been saying that waiving farm loan would hinder the economic progress and opposing it, he has been waiving loans by rich industrialists. He cited Union Minister for Finance Arun Jetley’s statement on June 13 that the Centre will not give a single piase if the State waives farm loan. He reminded the house about farm loan waiver earlier of Rs 72,000 crore by UPA government and again a waiver of Rs 10,000. He came down strongly on the BJP-led NDA government for its non-committal to the cause of farmers, reports Kannada Prabha

Just before the Chief Minister announced the loan waiver, 3 farmers committed suicide in the State taking the toll to 314 in 2017. Chandre Gowda (46) of Haramballi, KR Nagara taluk, M N Sagar (21), Maganahalli, Mandya district and Shanmukha (37) Ladha village, Aurad taluk, Bidar district committed suicide burdened with the loan.

• farm loan waiver
• Siddaramaiah