The Central government should have announced adequate relief for farmers in drought-hit States like Tamil Nadu, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi failed to do during his address to the nation on December 31, Tamil Maanila Congress president G.K. Vasan said.
Loan waiver
In a statement, Mr. Vasan stated that while Mr. Modi did announce loans to the tune of ₹20,000 crore for farmers, he should also announce more schemes for drought-affected States like Tamil Nadu. “The farmers had been expecting complete loan waivers and the BJP government should provide that,” he said.
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Mr. Vasan added that there was no concrete announcement aimed at easing the cash crunch brought about by demonetisation. “In villages, only a few transactions take place through banks. The government should clarify what measures it has taken to increase this and what measures it would take in the future. There was nothing mentioned regarding this in Mr. Modi’s speech,” he said.
Despite the PM’s assurance that the economy would bounce back to growth in 50 days, it was going in the opposite direction, he said. “He (Modi) should put a full-stop to this situation and ensure that people are able to access cash easily and lead their lives well. This is the duty of the Central government,” Mr. Vasan said.