Waive farm loans or face stir near Soudha, BJP tells govt

The Opposition BJP on Tuesday renewed its bid to pressure the Siddaramaiah government to waive farmers’ loans. It said if the demand was not met, the party would bring scores of people to stage an agitation in Bengaluru.

Raising the issue in the Assembly, Leader of the Opposition Jagadish Shettar said in the wake of severe drought the state witnessed, farmers should get financial assistance. The BJP leaders are touring the state to study farmers’ plight. They are demanding farm loan waiver. If the government fails to announce the waiver, the party will be forced to bring lakhs of farmers to stage a protest in front of Vidhana Soudha, he said.

Describing the government as anti-farmer, Shettar said the Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra governments had waived loans worth Rs 36,000 crore and Rs 30,000 crore, respectively. They did it on their own, though the Centre did not offer any help. He wondered why Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who has completed four years in office, has not been able to follow the example of his counterparts in UP and Maharashtra.

Finding fault with the Congress government for pointing fingers at the Centre, the BJP leader said the Centre had released the highest amount under the calamity relief fund in the last one decade. The state government has failed not only to provide employment, but also to provide drinking water to those who are in distress. Farmers, who have failed to get daily wages, have been migrating from the villages, he said.