Farmers' cell takes dig at RBI guv on loan waiver

Countering the RBI governor’s statement against farm loan waiver in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP farmers’ cell said it was a one-time decision to mitigate the agrarian crisis.

Uttar Pradesh (UP) Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had on April 4 announced a Rs 36,000 crore relief package to fulfil the  poll promise. Farmers’ cell chief Birendra Singh Mast said, “The RBI governor made the comment from the business view point. But, the government has to deal the crisis the farmers are facing.”

Singh also said that Patel should go through a report on the banking sector which clearly points out that as high as 95% loan recovery is from the farmers, and that villagers and rural inhabitants contribute the maximum towards bank deposits.

The MP from Uttar Pradesh also said the government should work towards uplifting the farmers. On Thursday, Patel had said writing off farm loans “undermines honest credit culture, impacts credit discipline and plugs incentives for future borrowers to repay. In other words, waivers engender moral hazard”. He also said it entails transfer from tax payers to borrowers.

Adityanath’s decision has put pressure on other states to come up with similar bailout packages. The BJP’s ally Shiv Sena has now urged the Maharashtra government to offer similar assistance to distressed farmers. Overall, 3.5 lakh farmers have committed suicide in the country as they could not pay off loans.