JAIPUR: Chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday blamed the Centre for the failure of the Congress’ poll promise to waive farmers’ loans from various scheduled and commercial banks.
Claiming that he had waived Rs 15,000 crore of farmers’ loans from the state’s cooperative banks, the chief minister, while talking to reporters in Delhi, said he has been unable to waive loans from various nationalised and commercial banks owing to the lack of cooperation from the Centre.
He said the nationalised banks come under the purview of the Centre which is dithering on directing banks to waive their loans to farmers.
“We have waived farmers’ loans from cooperatives banks, but nationalised banks comes under the Centre and the RBI. They are not able to waive loans as the Centre is not cooperating,” Gehlot said.
“We have written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to direct nationalised banks to waive farmers’ loans just like they do it for corporates. They have not decided on it as yet. So, the fault is of the Centre,” Gehlot asserted.
State cooperative Minister Udaylal Anjana said due to lack of cooperation from the nationalised banks, the waiving of loans taken from them has not happened as yet.
“The state government will do its part if we get cooperation from the nationalised banks. Waiving loans taken from the nationalised and commercial banks is possible if banks agree to waive a part of it. If they do it, the government can give a fixed percentage of the amount,” Anjana told reporters.
Ahead of the Rajasthan assembly elections in 2018, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi had promised to waive farmers’ loans within 10 days, if his party is voted to power in the state.
After the Congress emerged victorious, an order issued by the state cooperative department on December 19, 2018 said all short-term crop loans availed by eligible farmers from state cooperative banks up to Rs 2 lakh, outstanding as on November 30, 2018 would be waived off.
As per the Cooperative Department, the state government has waived short-term crop loans of Rs 15,000 crore of 20.81 lakh farmers.
Meanwhile, opposition BJP has been hammering the Congress government on the issue for long.
BJP state president said the then Congress president had promised that its government will waive entire loans of farmers within 10 days of assuming power.