Published 23:26 IST, September 23rd 2020
BJP admits Kamal Nath govt waived off 26 lakh farmers' loan in 51 Madhya Pradesh districts
Madhya Pradesh Agriculture Minister Kamal Patel accepted that farmer loans have been waived in 51 districts in the state by the previous Kamal Nath government.
In a surprising development, the one-day Madhya Pradesh session on Wednesday created a political turmoil after state Agriculture Minister Kamal Patel accepted that farmer loans have been waived in 51 districts in the state by the previous Kamal Nath government. The BJP government has admitted that farmer loans upto Rs 1 lakh have been waived in two phases, in response to Congress MLA Jayawardhan Singh's queries. These revelations come amid BJP's incessant allegations on the Kamal Nath government over farm loan waivers ahead of state by-polls.
BJP admits to Congress farm loan waiver
As per reports, around loans up to one lakh rupees was waived off for 26 lakh farmers including -17,403 farmers in Guna, Bamori, Raghogarh, Madhusudangarh, Chachauda, Kumbhraj and Aron - which are up for by-polls. The two-phase farm loan waiver has covered all districts in the state, admitted BJP. . Former minister and sitting Congress MLA Dr Govind Singh stated, " it is clear from the Minister's reply that loans has been forgiven, but the BJP is only misleading the people. Loans upto Rs 2 lakhs have been waived off in my constituency."
After filing the written reply, BJP minister Bhupendra Singh alleged that the information provided was incorrect and an investigation has been ordered into it. He added that the 'loan waiver was claimed only on statistics' and not in reality. Reacting to Singh's comments, Congress MLA Jitu Patwari, said, " The government is lying by misleading the farmers. Those who killed democracy are now misleading the farmers." This admission also comes amid the passage of the three farm bills by the Modi government which has led to a widespread revolt by farmers.
Madhya Pradesh crisis & bypolls
The crisis in the Kamal Nath government started when Congress alleged BJP of poaching 4 MLAs - two of which returned to Kamal Nath's folds. Soon, 22 MLAs including 6 cabinet ministers - loyal to Jyotiraditya Scindia - quit the party, reducing the Congress to a minority government with 92 MLAs. Following this, Scindia resigned from Congress and then joined the BJP. After Nath stepped down as CM and the Madhya Pradesh Speaker accepted all 22 MLAs' resignation, all of them promptly joined BJP. Three more Congress MLAs have joined BJP since then - vacating 27 seats in the Assembly - 24 of which will shortly go to by-polls.
Updated 23:26 IST, September 23rd 2020