New Delhi: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said the Uttar Pradesh government’s move to waive off farm loans was “a step in the right direction”.
He said it was a “partial relief” and asked the government to evolve a national response to agrarian crisis.
Mr Gandhi said the Centre should not discriminate among states and no politics should be played with farmers suffering across the country.
“A partial relief for UP farmers, but a step in the right direction. Congress has always supported loan waivers for farmers in distress,” he said.
“I’m happy the BJP has finally been forced to see reason. But let’s not play politics with our farmers who are suffering across the country,” he added.
A delegation of senior Congress leaders met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of agrarian distress on the last day of the winter session of Parliament.
They demanded that farm loans should be waived off across the country, and issues like minimum support price and procurement hurdles should sorted out soon.
Delivering on BJP’s poll promise to small and marginal farmers, Adityanath Yogi government on Tuesday decided to waive crop loans up to Rs 1 lakh, totalling a staggering Rs 36,359 crore.
The move will benefit over 2.15 crore farmers, besides seven lakh others who had secured loans.
