Waive off farmers' loans, Congress urges Modi

New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh Congress submitted two crore “Kisan Maang Patras” to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday, while the Punjab Congress submitted 34 lakh forms. The Congress had started an ambitious plan to have all farmers fill up a form with details of farm loans and electricity bills. During his kisan yatra in August, Mr Gandhi had announced that if the Congress comes to power in Uttar Pradesh, it would waive all farm loans and halve all electricity bills.

Speaking to reporters after the forms were submitted, Mr Gandhi said, “The demonetisation decision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has hit farmers hard and has questioned their honesty. Indian farmers are honest. They do not possess black money and have hard-earned income. We want that Modiji hears out problems of farmers, waive off their loans, reduce their power bills to half and help them get remunerative price for their produce.”

Mr Gandhi will hold protest rallies against demonetisation in UP. The first of these will be in Jaunpur on December 19. The Congress, in its poll strategy, is portraying the BJP-led Central government as one that does not work for the farmers and the poor.

Mr Gandhi has been harping in his campaigning that the present government at the Centre is aligned with its big business friends and is neglecting the common farmer. The idea of the farmers survey forms had gained tremendous support at the grassroots level with the Congress harping on the point that it had, in 2008, waived farm loans.

The Congress is yet to take a call on whether to give these forms to the PMO or not.