Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Tuesday condemned Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh’s move to request the commission agents to not to charge exorbitant interest after giving them the go-ahead to charge an annual interest of 18 per cent.
It is condemnable that the Chief Minister even urged the arhtiyas to approach a three-member ministerial committee to “rationalise” (increase) interest rates further, said SAD MP and general secretary Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa.
Terming such a “compromise” with the arhtiya community, at a time when indebted farmers were committing suicide across the State, as unbefitting of the high office Capt Amarinder was holding, Dhindsa said that an impression had been given that the Chief Minister was more interested about safeguarding the interest rates of arhtiyas than protecting the rights of farmers.
“Farmers were expecting you to tell arhtiyas that the State Government will take ownership for all farmer loans taken from them as you had announced before the elections. Instead of doing this, you chose to tell them that the current system will continue,” said SAD leader, adding that the SAD had nothing against arhtiyas and understood the vital role they played in Punjab’s rural economy.
“However, SAD stands for giving relief to farmers at this crucial juncture. This could have been easily done by lowering arhtiya loan interest rates besides announcing a time frame for complete waiver of all loans taken from commission agents,” he added.