Bengaluru: State unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday described the decision of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to waive crop loans up to Rs 50,000 as the victory for its struggle on behalf of farmers in the state and demanded the government to waive crop loans up to Rs 1 lakh.
“Waiving crop loans up to Rs. 50,000 is not a big achievement. We expected the state government to waive crop loans up to Rs 1 lakh. Had Siddaramaiah taken this decision, the government would have prevented farmers committing suicide,’’ BJP Karnataka president B.S. Yeddyurappa told reporters here.
The chief minister announced the decision in the legislative assembly on waiving crop loans up to Rs 50,000 availed by over 22 lakh farmers from cooperative societies across the state. “More farmers will be benefited if the government waive crop loans up to Rs 1 lakh. I want the chief minister to reconsider the decision of waiving the crop loans,’’ he said.
Demanding the chief minister to transfer the money to farmers’ bank accounts, Leader of Opposition in the legislative assembly Jagadish Shettar said the farmers were in distress due to severe drought for the last three years.
“Siddaramaiah has announced waiving of crop loans since the BJP has threatened to launch a massive agitation on July 10 if the government fails to waive crop loans. It is BJP’s victory,’’ Shettar said.
Demanding the government to waive the total amount of Rs 10,736 crore crop loans availed by farmers from cooperative banks, Karnataka State Farmers’ Association and Green Brigade president Kodihalli Chandrasekhar said farmers would organize protest if the government fails to waive crop loans. “Karnataka should follow Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra on waiving crop loans. I appeal to Siddaramaiah to waive crop loans up to Rs 1 lakh availed from cooperative banks,’’ Chandrasekhar said.
He said around 100 farmers from Karnataka will join farmers agitation scheduled to be organised at Mansur village in Madhya Pradesh on July 6. “The protest is to demand Centre to waive crop loans availed from nationalized banks. Farmers will stage protest at Champaran in Bihar on October 2 in support of their demands,’’ he said.
Emphasising the need for complete waiver of crop loans, Karnataka Sugarcane Growers’ Association President Karbur Shanthakumar said the government’s decision to waive crop loans up to Rs 50,000 would lead to more problems for farmers. “Farmers have no money to repay the remaining loan (above Rs 50,000) to avail fresh crop loans during kharif season. I want the government to waive the total crop loan for the benefit of farmers,’’ Shanthakumar said.
