Press Statement issued by BJP National Spokesperson
Shri Prakash Javadekar

The government's hoax of loan waiver stands fully exposed now. The government's announcement of five year funding of loan waiver clearly depicts the political game plan of the Congress led UPA government. The government wants to usurp undeserved credit for Rs. 60,000 crore loan waiver whereas in reality it has provided only Rs. 10,000 crores and left burden on future government to foot the balance bill of Rs. 50,000 crores. This game plan is bound to get further exposed, after the detailed RBI guidelines are issued. The banks in a routine exercise provide for bad loans for all sectors including agriculture. Government wants to build upon these provisions and take credit for such write offs. Government must come clean how banks can issue "no dues certificate" to the farmers, without actually receiving any money from the government.

The loan waiver announcement has already proved futile to ease the agrarian distress. Suicides continue unabated. 75 farmers from the Vidharbha region of Maharashtra have committed suicide during the last 15 days after the announcement of loan waiver. This has happened because the scheme has not covered the farmers in distress. Five acre ceiling is proving fatal and does not cover majority of dry land farmers. Further 70% farmers, who borrow from private moneylenders, are also not benefited. It is not the outstanding loans, which are waived but only overdue loans are covered, thus denying justice to the millions of honest farmers. It is already clear that 80% of the farmers do not get any benefit from the loan waiver scheme. The data collected by various state governments also testify to this fact.

The present agriculture crisis is due to adhoc agricultural policies of UPA government. The recent decisions with regard to export and import policies on various food items weakens the basis of various technology missions launched to boost production of oilseed and other crops. The government decision not to increase sugarcane prices and continue with last years prices is yet another example of such adhocism. The government is consistently refusing to pay remunerative prices to the farmers. And it is dilly-dallying on recommendations of Commission of Agriculture Cost and Prices (CACP) about the MSP for this season.

BJP believes that remunerative prices, agriculture loan at 4% of interest, Farm Income Guarantee Insurance Scheme, efficient market linkages, heavy public investment in irrigation and research, control on input cost and wide coverage of institutional credit along with storage facility can only address the agrarian crisis.

(Shyam Jaju)
Office Incharge