Not yielding to mounting pressure from the ruling Shiv Sena and Opposition parties for a farm loan waiver, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday sought to turn the tables on the Congress and NCP, by maintaining that while his Government was per se not opposed to waiving the farm loans, the two Opposition parties were indulging in “politics of loan waiver” to “cover up” the co-operative bank scams in the State.
In an intervention in the State Assembly amid uproar by the ruling Shiv Sena Opposition parties over their clamour for farm loan waiver, Fadnavis said: “We are not per se opposed farm loan waiver. But, the Opposition parties are indulging in politics of loan waiver merely to cover up the co-operative bank scams in the State.... Will the Opposition give the State Government an assurance that once we waive farm loans, the unabated suicide endIJ”
Reeling out statistics, Fadnavis said that after the previous Congress-led UPA Government waived loans of farmers in the State in 2009, as many 16,000 farmers had committed suicide during five years after the previous loan waiver announcement. “In 2010, 3141 farmers committed suicide, while 3337 farmers ended. Totally, as many 16, 000 farmers committed in five years after the loan waiver in 2009”.
“We are per se not opposed to farm loan waiver. While going in for farm loan waiver, we will lay emphasis on improving the standard of agriculture in the state. A delegation of the State Government will meet Union Finance Minister and Agriculture Minister to press for farm loan waiver,” the Chief Minister sasid. Fadnavis said that the farmers’ loans in the had mounted to a total of Rs 1,14,000 crore. “Of the total loan, Rs 63,000 crore is crop loan, while Rs 51,000 crore is restructured loan. We need to make an allocation of Rs 30,500 crore if we decide to go in for farm loan waiver”.
Disclosing that his Government had already invested of Rs 31, 000 crore, the chief minister said: “Of the total money invested, we have incurred an expenditure of Rs 19,434 crore on agriculture and related fields. In addition, we have invested as much as Rs 2,000 crore on crop insurance, Rs 8,000 crore losses caused by natural calamities and Rs 1500 crore on measures to increase agriculture output”.
Fadnavis recalled that after less than one year after the 2009 farm loan waiver, farmers were once again trapped in debts. "After the previous loan waiver, the banks did not find the farmers credit worthy. If the Opposition parties are clamouring the farm loan waiver, it is because that they want to help the district co-operative banks run by them which are involved in irregularities. We have to learn from Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, where the farmers were benefited immensely after the Governments there invested money on agriculture"
The remarks by Fadnavis in the State Assembly were in line with the stand he has taken consistently ever since he became Maharashtra Chief Minister in October 2014 that the farm loan waiver would not bring about a permanent solution a agrarian crisis prevailing in the State for more than a decade now. Fadnavis’ statement in the Assembly was prompted by an aggressive stand taken by the Shiv Sena which has threatened to stall the presentation for of budget for 2017-18 till such time that the State Government does not announce farm loan waiver.
No wonder that it was the Shiv Sena MlAs who initiated protests in the State Assembly, as soon as the House met for the day. They, together with the Congress and NCP MlAs, rushed to the well of the House and shouted vociferous slogans demanding the farm loan waiver. In fact, the Opposition and ruling Sena MlAs were engaged in slogan shouting, even while Fadanvis was making a statement on the issue.
Though it did not come out with its views on Fadnavis' statement, the Sena is expected to join the Opposition in noisy clamour for farm loan waiver, in both the Houses of the State legislature on Friday as well.
Talking to media persons, leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil charged that through his statement, the Chief Minister had tried to “mislead” the people. “The State Government is honest about intentions vis-a-vis the farm loan waiver. So much so that the State Government is not ready to adopt a one-line resolution in the State legislature urging the Centre to announce waiver of loans for the distressed farmers ,” he said.