Waive agri loans taken from nationalised banks: HDK tells govt

JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy on Friday demanded that the state government waive crop loans obtained by farmers from nationalised banks.

“The NDA government has made it clear that it had no intention of waiving loans taken from nationalised banks. The state government should not go to the Centre with a begging bowl. Let the state government waive loans taken from nationalised banks and come to the rescue of farmers,” Kumaraswamy told reporters in Bengaluru.

He said the government’s decision to waive crop loans up to Rs 50,000 borrowed from cooperative institutions benefited farmers only marginally. “A large number of farmers have taken loans from nationalised banks and they are in distress. To add to their anguish, there has been deficient rainfall and it looks like the drought spell in the state will continue this year too,” he said.

Kumaraswamy said thousands of farmers had repaid their loans and the government should reimburse them the waived amount (Rs 50,000). The JD(S) leader said there was no clarity on how the government will implement the loan waiver scheme.

‘Govt trying to fix me’
The former chief minister accused the state government of trying to fix him in the Janthakal mining case. “A deliberate attempt is being made to tarnish my image ahead of the Assembly polls. CDs and pen drives have surfaced. I have nothing to worry as I have not done anything wrong,” Kumaraswamy said.

He was apparently referring to former minister G Janardhana Reddy appearing before the SIT and submitting some documents, including a CD and a pen drive, to substantiate his charge that Kumaraswamy had received Rs 150-crore kickbacks. Kumaraswamy has been accused of abusing his official position as the chief minister in 2007 in granting Janthakal mining company lease to lift one lakh tonnes of iron ore.