Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday accused the Opposition of shedding crocodile tears over the plight of farmers, and said their demand of loan waiver is politically-motivated as they suffered a drubbing in the recent local bodies and civic polls across the State.
Mr. Fadnavis reiterated that his government is not opposed to loan waiver, but wanted that the decision benefit the farmers. The CM said in the Assembly, which has been witnessing uproarious scenes on the demand of loan waiver, that the plight of the farmers is due to the policies of the previous Congress-NCP government, which ruled the State for 15 years.
“You have no right to ask for a loan waiver. Only the BJP and the Shiv Sena can ask for it. Your demand is out of political motives since you have been convincingly defeated in the recent polls. Your are just shedding crocodile tears. We are not against loan waiver, but we are deliberating on when and how it should be done” He said about 1.36 crore farmers have taken loan amounting to ₹1.14 lakh crore. “Of the total loan, ₹63 crore is agriculture-related loan while ₹51 crore is personal loan. While ₹31,057 crore is overdue, ₹30,500 crore is outdated.” All these years, expenditure on agriculture investment had been very less, he said, adding that since his government came to power, capital expenditure on agriculture and allied sectors is ₹19,434 crore. Similarly, ₹11,500 crore has been spent on crop insurance and assistance for natural calamities.
No money for investment
“I want the Opposition leaders to guarantee that if we waived off the outdated loan of ₹30,500 crore, there would be no single farmer suicide. Since the loan waiver of 2008-09, as many as 16,000 farmers have committed suicide.” He said if loan waiver is announced, the government will have no money for investment in agriculture sector.
The Chief Minister charged that the Congress-NCP wants the loan waiver to help district co-operative banks run by them and which are involved in irregularities. He said he is willing to lead a delegation to the Centre to meet the Finance and the Agriculture minister for assistance in agriculture sector.
As soon as the House assembled for the day and the Speaker called for the Question Hour, Shiv Sena legislators entered the Well demanding loan waiver. They were joined by the Congress and the NCP.
Leader of the Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil said Opposition members have been demanding loan waiver since the Budget session began. Recently, some parts of the State saw unseasonal rain, due to which debt-ridden farmers suffered crop losses. He said sentiment of the House is that there is no option other than loan waiver to the farmers.
House adjourned
The Speaker adjourned the Assembly for 30 minutes. After the House re-assembled, Yogesh Sagar (BJP), who was in the Chair, appealed to the agitating members to go back to their seats. However, Congress, NCP and Sena members were in no mood to listen. The House was adjourned for the second time till the end of the Question Hour. The Chief Minister’s intervention after the second adjournment was amid sloganeering by the Congress and the NCP legislators. Sena members did not come into the Well when Mr. Fadnavis was making his government’s stand clear.
Later, Sena legislators Chandradeep Narke and Anil Kadam said, “The Congress and the NCP were responsible for the farmers’ plight. The Chief Minister should discuss with the Centre and announce a loan waiver before the Budget presentation on March 18. The Sena will take to the street if the demand is not accepted.”
Statement misleading
Mr. Vikhe-Patil criticised the Chief Minister’s statement saying it is misleading and the government is interested in waiving off loans of industrialists.
After third and fourth adjournment of 15 and 10 minutes, the Chair rushed through the day’s agenda before adjourning the House for the day.
Earlier, speaking to reporters outside the Assembly, Sena leader and MLA Anil Kadam said the State should get financial assistance from the Centre within next two days for announcing the loan waiver. “Our party will continue to support the government till the Budget presentation. If they fail to provide a loan waiver, then the Sena will oppose it.”
