The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Debt waiver for ryots stumps YSR

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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Debt waiver for ryots stumps YSR

Special Correspondent

Chief Minister had sought input subsidy

Chief Minister had contended that loan waiver will benefit 50 p.c. farmers
YSR implies that Congress will be in power ‘as long as people are hungry’

HYDERABAD: Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram’s announcement on debt waiver for farmers stumped Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy as he did not consider the latter’s plea to give input subsidy and not loan assistance.

Dr. Reddy, however, hailed the Union Minister’s largesse and accepted sweets offered to him at a press conference by Agriculture Minister N. Raghuveera Reddy who described him a“ farmer”.

The Chief Minister, at a meeting with Mr. Chidambaram on February 4, had contended that loan waivers benefited 50 per cent of the small and marginal farmers and, more particularly those not regular in their repayments.

Spoiling discipline

Asserting that frequent waivers would only spoil the discipline among farmers, he recommended an input subsidy of Rs. 5,000 per farmer annually for three consecutive years, a stand that drew flak from the TDP.

It was no wonder therefore, when TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu said that Mr. Chidambaram’s announcement was partly due to the pressure exerted by the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA).

‘No disappointment’

Asked for his comment, Dr. Reddy said, “We ask for the sky but the Centre has to take its own decisions. So, there is no disappointment for me (on the issue of subsidy).”

Pro-farmer

To a question whether the sops were an indication that general elections were round the corner, the Chief Minister replied,

“We have been taking pro-farmer measures for the past four years and we will continue them even after the next elections.”

Asked how long would these measures continue? he shot back,

“As long as long as people are hungry,” implying that the Congress would be in power for that long.

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