Bengaluru (DHNS): Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said BJP leader B S Yeddyurappa should now ask the Centre to waive farm loans obtained by farmers from nationalised banks.

“Yeddyurappa had threatened me that he will demand loan waiver by grabbing my collar...Now, will he demand loan waiver from the Centre grabbing Modi (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) by his collar?” he raid, while addressing party workers at the KPCC office, where he was felicitated for waiving short-term crop loans obtained by farmers from co-operative banks.

Earlier, Congress leaders and workers were surprised when Siddaramaiah made a slip of the tongue and dared Yeddyurappa to demand loan waiver grabbing former prime minister Manmohan Singh by his collar. He immediately clarified, saying he meant Modi.

The chief minister accused the state BJP leaders of being hypocrites and said they do not have the guts to speak up in front of the prime minister. None of the BJP MPs from Karnataka has demanded loan waiver in Parliament, he said. He criticised Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu for his statement that demanding loan waiver has become a fashion and, said it shows that the BJP does not have any concern for farmers.

KPCC president G Parameshwara said the BJP is dreaming of coming to power in the state. The Congress workers should not allow it to happen, he added.

Farmers meet CM
A delegation of farmers met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday and sought that the state government waive full crop loans borrowed from cooperative institutions.

The delegation led by Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha president Kodihalli Chandrashekhar said total waiver of crop loans taken by small and marginal farmers will result in an additional burden of only Rs 2,500 crore on the government. “It is not a big amount for the government. Farmers have lost all their investments due to drought. Total crop loan waiver will help them,” Chandrashekhar said.

He said the chief minister told them that he would consult the finance department before taking a final decision. The delegation also sought that the government expedite work on on-going irrigation projects.

KSE seeks full waiver of farm loans

Leader of the Opposition in Legislative Council K S Eshwarappa termed the state government’s decision to waive farm loans up to Rs 50,000 a ‘gimmick’ and urged the chief minister to waive all farm loans borrowed by farmers from cooperative banks, reports DHNS from Shivamogga.

Speaking to reporters here on Friday, he said that of the total farm loans of Rs 10,700 crore, the government has waived only Rs 8,165 crore. It still has to waive around

Rs 2,535 crore. Had the government done this earlier, many farmers would have survived, he added. The senior BJP leader said there is still time to safeguard the interests of farmers. The government must enhance the limit of farm loan waiver to Rs 1 lakh, he demanded. He claimed that BJP-led governments in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra have waived farm loans to the tune of Rs 36,000 crore.