Reacting to former Chief Minister and BJP State unit president B.S. Yeddyurappa demanding that the State government waive off crop loans taken by farmers, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said, Mr. Yeddyurappa is demanding waiver of farm loan borrowed from State government-controlled financial institutions which constitutes just 22% of the total farm loan. He is completely silent when it comes to the farm loan borrowed from Central government-controlled commercial banks which is about 78%.
He was speaking to mediapersons at DAR police helipad here.
“We have written to the Prime Minister requesting him to waif 50% of the farm loans in commercial banks so that we too can do the same in cooperative banks. But, there is no response from Centre,” he said. He asked Mr. Yeddyurappa to convince his leaders in Delhi and get it done.
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Of ₹52,000 crore existing farm loan in the State, ₹42,000 crore is in commercial banks controlled by Union government, he added.
Alleging that Mr. Yeddyurappa speaks something when in Opposition and something else when in power, Mr. Siddaramaiah said when Mr. Yeddyurappa was the chief minister he had openly declared in Legislative Council that it was not possible for his government to waive farm loans.
When asked about new restrictions imposed by Union government on cattle trading and slaughter, the Chief Minister said that he would thoroughly examine and decide whether or not to implement it in the State. “It is a State subject and we already have an Act on it,” he said
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Congress Leader in Lok Sabha M. Mallikarjun Kharge and Minister of State for Medical Education Sharan Prakash Patil were present.