Demanding a white paper on the total loan waiver, YSR Congress has said the TDP government is pushing the farmers in to indebtedness by going back on its poll promises and changing its stance frequently without addressing the core issue nor revealing how and when the waiver will be implemented.
“We demand a white paper from the Chandrababu Naidu government with facts and figures and a categorical assurance as to when and how the loans would be waived as the cabinet colleagues of the Chief Minister have been giving widely varying statements on the issue and are driving farmers into distress and indebtedness,” party leader K Pardhasarathi told reporters here on Thursday.
The Agriculture Minister has just stopped short of saying a big no to the total waiver of loans and the TDP government has been dilly-dallying on the issue from day one though it was the first file Chandrababu Naidu has signed after assuming office.
TDP government has set up committees only to bid time and has bluffed to the people that RBI will reschedule the loans and when a top official of the apex Bank has said it is not possible the TDP leaders took shelter under some other pretext but the promise was not honored.
Bankers have bluntly said that they will not give fresh loans unless the old dues are cleared and if they become defaulters the rate of interest would be 12 %. These circumstances created by TDP government have been pushing farmers into a debt trap and driving them to the fold of unscrupulous money lenders.
The latest remark of a TDP Minister asking the farmers to clear the loans first and the government will ensure fresh loans and stating that only one person in a family is eligible for loan waiver shows that State Government has scant respect for farmers.
As more than 70 % of farmers are dependent on bank loans, the government should categorically state as to when it will implement the loan waiver scheme and how, he said.
During the previous term of TDP, farmers were neck deep in debts and YSR has saved them from distress and the quantum of bank loans to farmers from banks increased from Rs 3,000 crores to Rs 10,000 crores after YSR took over and the figure now stands around Rs 30,000 crores, he said adding that the government should release a white paper on the loan waiver immediately.
He also took strong objection to the TDP government’s decision to charge Rs 200 per member from women groups to build the state capital and called it as absurd.
On the TRS government issuing the GO 36 raising the nativity issue, he said “the decision is unfortunate and it is a pity that not a single member of the AP government held talks with either Telangana Chief Minister or the concerned minister.”