TMC-led opposition MLAs stage `road roko'

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, APRIL 25. The Opposition MLAs' led by the TMC today staged a 'road roko' in front of the State Assembly premises after they walked out from the House to protest the Government rejecting their demand to write-off farmers' cooperative loans. The issue figured in the House as an echo to the opposition party's 'road-roko' in the Cauvery delta areas to press the farmers' demands. While the Opposition leader, Mr.S.Balakrishnan after their ``symbolic protest'' for about 45 minutes in the scorching sun said the TMC and its allies will discuss their further course of action tomorrow, the TMC, AIADMK, CPI, CPI(M), INL and FB members earlier trooped out of the Assembly shouting slogans, when the Chief Minister, Mr.M.Karunanidhi ruled out a total loan waiver.

The stand-off between the Opposition and the Treasury benches on this issue became evident as several TMC MLAs' led by Mr.S.Alagiri were insistent that the Speaker allow them to raise this issue, particularly in the wake of several MLAs' having been arrested along with the farmers in the deltaic districts.

Even as Mr.P.T.R.Palanivel Rajan declined permission to Mr.Alagiri, several opposition MLAs' were up on their feet including Mr.K.Subbaroyan (CPI) and Mr.P.R.Sundaram (AIADMK). However, Mr.Balakrishnan quickly seized the moment to raise the 'burning issue' of farmers' road-roko demanding loans write-off and hoped the Chief Minister would ``give us some good news''.

A visibly irritated Speaker told Mr.Balakrishnan that though he had certain privileges as the Leader of the Opposition, to suddenly raise an issue skirting House conventions was hardly proper and warned that even his (Opposition leader's) utterances might have to be expunged in future in such situations.

Replying to Mr.Balakrishnan, Mr.Karunanidhi asked him if there was any way the farmers loans (principal and interest) could be waived given NABARD's categorical stand that any full waiver by the Government will automatically mean the Development Bank's credit-line to the cooperative banks stopping this year.

``We have already waived the penal interest on the ryots' loans and offered a 7 per cent incentive on interest payments due; but we cannot run the Government if the entire debt burden of the farmers has to written off,'' asserted Mr.Karunanidhi.

Wondering why even Communist members were persisting on a practice which was not in vogue even in Left-run West Bengal and Kerala, Mr.Karunanidhi regretted that Mr.Balakrishnan should hold a brief for the 'agitators', who sought to ``pressurise'' the Government. ``Some MLAs' may have courted arrested there, but all those arrested are not farmer-debtors'', he pointed out.

When the issue shifted to the State's powers vis-a-vis NABARD, with Mr.Alagiri taunting the helplessness of the DMK Government which stood for more autonomy and was also part of the NDA at the Centre, Mr.Karunanidhi said that it was not Tamil Nadu's stand that it could not violate the MOU with NABARD.

Only the NABARD was firmly against any fresh refinancing if Government resorted to a total loan waiver, he said, and underscored whether it was the Cauvery waters issue or any other issue an agreement reached by a previous Government (AIADMK in this case with NABARD) had to be honoured by its successor.

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Section  : Regional
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