LESS THAN a week after suffering a humiliating electoral reversal in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress government on Wednesday expanded the scope of its ambitious loan waiver programme by promising to include even those farmers whose outstanding loan is more than Rs 2 lakh.
The original scheme announced ahead of assembly election promised to waive off crop loans up to Rs 2 lakh. However, its implementation became a major talking point in the recent Lok Sabha polls with the BJP alleging that the Congress had taken farmers for a ride by promising something that it could not deliver.
Chief Minister Kamal Nath on Wednesday announced that loans up to Rs 2 lakh will be waived off completely and the amount exceeding the ceiling will also be waived if the farmers deposit half the amount. Nath said he has spoken to banks in this regard but did not elaborate on the number of potential beneficiaries or the burden on banks.
The Chief Minister made the announcement while talking to members of Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangh (RKMS), a farmers’ organisation that had threatened to take to the streets between June 1 and June 5 to highlight farmers’ issues such as incomplete loan waiver and seek their redressal.