Only hours after Shivraj Government’s reply tabled in Assembly on farm loan waiver was reported in media, Urban Administration and Development (UAD) Minister Bhupendra Singh claimed that the officers had offered false information on farm loan waiver.
During the one-day Monsoon session of Assembly on Monday, the Agriculture Minister Kamal Patel had submitted a written reply in Assembly that a total Rs 11,600 cr farm loans of 26.95 lakh farmers was waived off in Madhya Pradesh.
It was contrary to BJP’s stand that Kamal Nath Government only offered nominal waivers of a few thousands and betrayed farmers. The Congress party had launched a full-fledged attack on the ruling BJP on these reports accusing the party of lying to their teeth.
On Wednesday, the UAD Minister speaking to the media in Bhopal on the reply submitted by his ministerial colleague in Assembly claimed that loan waiver wasn’t done and officers offered wrong information in Assembly.
Asked whether farm loans were waived off, the Minister affirmed only jugglery of figures was done (by Congress party) and the burden was put on the banks and this is why the CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan offered Rs 800 cr to these banks.
A probe will be carried out and officer guilty of providing wrong information will be punished, he added.
His Cabinet colleague and the Home minister Narottam Mishra affirmed Singh’s views saying farm loans upto Rs 2,000-4,000 were written off. He asked the media to neither believe the BJP nor Congress and urged them to find farmers who got loan waiver upto Rs 1 lakh to two lakh as announced by ex-AICC president Rahul Gandhi.
In the run up to MP Assembly polls in year 2018, then AICC president Rahul Gandhi had announced that after coming to power, the Congress within ten days will waive off farm loans upto Rs 2 lakh.
Former PR Minister PC Sharma meanwhile slammed the ruling BJP. The BJP is lying as it offered information in Assembly that Rs 11,600 cr farm loans were waived and later the Chief Minister said that only Rs 6,000 cr loans were written off. The truth is that it was Congress party which had helped the farmers, said Sharma.
Agriculture Minister Kamal Patel while speaking to the media at Harda lashed out at MPCC chief Kamal Nath saying Nath should apologise to the farmers for not fulfilling his promise made after becoming Chief Minister (on waiving off farm loans upto Rs two lakh). He also accused Nath of being responsible for farmers receiving Rs 1553 cr less in crop insurance. Kamal Nath is not fit to be a public representative, claimed Patel.