Parliament uproar over farm loan waiver scam

Manmohan promises stringent action against irregularities

Parliament on Wednesday witnessed uproar over the Comptroller and Auditor General’s findings of sloppy implementation of agricultural debt waiver and debt relief scheme, 2008, prompting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to assure the House of stringent action if there were irregularities in reaching benefits to farmers.

The Opposition led by the Bharatiya Janata Party demanded a debate in both Houses on the alleged irregularities in the implementation of the farm loan waiver scheme. Despite initially insisting that the CAG report should be first studied by the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament, the government later agreed to have a full-fledged discussion on the issue.

The prime minister said the CAG report should be entrusted to the PAC in accordance with parliamentary practice. “If there are any irregularities, which have been shown, I assure the House we will take stringent possible action against the defaulters,” Singh told the Rajya Sabha.

Not convinced, the Opposition members trooped to the well of the House, raising slogans against the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government. Deputy Chairman P J Kurien adjourned the House. 

The BJP and Leftist MPs created a ruckus in the Lok Sabha. Speaker Meira Kumar adjourned the House for an hour. When the House reassembled at noon, Kumar allowed a brief discussion on the issue. Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj said the irregularities in the implementation of farm loan waiver scheme had shamed the nation.

“There have been corruption charges against the Government in the past.  But in this case, corrupt bank officials siphoned off the money under the nose of the Government, which did not take any action. The Reserve Bank of India had given a 15-day deadline to correct the discrepancies.

We want to know whether you were sleeping?” said Swaraj, demanding a structured debate. She alleged that thousands of deserving beneficiaries had been denied the benefits of the scheme, while ineligible people had got relief. She demanded that FIRs be lodged against the bank officials responsible for the alleged irregularities.

Reoti Raman Singh of the Samajwadi Party said had the loan waiver scheme been implemented properly, it would have prevented at least some farmers’ suicides. Basudev Acharia of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) acquiesced.

Janata Dal (Secular) leader and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda charged that the biggest beneficiaries of the scheme were wealthy landlords, who cornered benefits in the name of their landless farm labour. He called for stringent implementation of land reforms, without which no pro-farmer scheme would succeed.

After a brief debate in the Lok Sabha, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath said: “I share the sentiments of the members. It is not only a matter of grave concern, but also a matter of shame.”

‘NCP, BJP control tainted banks’

Activists from Vidharba have alleged that the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and RSS-BJP controlled banks were the key financial institutions involved in the farm loan waiver scam, reports DHNS from Mumbai.

Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS) leader Kishor Tiwari has offered to provide a list of the illegal beneficiaries in the Rs 70,000 crore farm loan scam highlighted in the recently released CAG report. Substantiating his argument, Tiwari pointed out that Nabard officials while implementing the loan waiver scheme for long-term loans were aware that commercial loans were not applicable in the plan.