Apparently following popular Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Aditya Nath’s just-announced waiver of agriculture loans in his State, his Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik said on Wednesday that he would “examine the matter (of waiving farmers’ crop loans in the State)”.
Besides, Agriculture Minister Pradeep Maharathy also said that the State Government is considering waiver of the farmers’ loans.
“The Government is mulling to waive off the farmers’ loans. The issue of exemption of crop loans was raised by the Delang block Chairman at a meeting with the Chief Minister (earlier on Wednesday),” Maharathy said, adding that the CM promised to consider the proposal.
In fact, CM Patnaik made the assurance to consider waiver of farm loans after a meeting with the BJD’s winning panchayat leaders of the districts of Bargarh, the rice bowl of the State, and Puri. The meeting was part of Patnaik’s series of ongoing interactions with his party’s newly-elected panchayat functionaries to assess the party’s substantial losses of seats in the rural polls to the gains of the BJP.
Political observers feel the Patnaik Government’s move for waiver of farm loans in the wake of a similar decision in Uttar Pradesh is yet another measure to counter the BJP’s rising influence in Odisha.