Modi govt running away from farm-debt waiver, says Jakhar

: Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president and member of Parliament (MP) from Gurdaspur Sunil Kumar Jakhar said that the anti-farmer face of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA government was exposed in the Lok Sabha when Union finance minister Arun Kumar Jaitley said that the government cannot implement farm debt waiver as a former RBI governor had advised that it will set a wrong precedent and weaken the financial condition of the banks.

Jakhar was talking to mediapersons outside his house here on Friday on the written statement given by the finance minister in the Lok Sabha on Friday on farm debt waiver.

He said that instead of making farmers debt-free in the country, the Modi government is engaged in making the country farmer-free.

He said that the Modi government, which has shown the dream of doubling the income of farmers by 2022, has been consistently taking anti-farmer decisions.

Jakhar said that the finance minister has replied in writing that the BJP government at the Centre has not spent a single penny for the farmers' debt waiver during the last three years.

He said that the minister is now running away from reality by referring to the advice of a former governor of RBI.

Jaitley, however, did not mention the name of the former RBI governor, who had reportedly said in his report that the farm loan waiver would set a wrong precedent, besides weakening the financial condition of banks.

He said Narender Modi has become prime minister with votes of farmers and not the RBI governor.

So, the PM is accountable for poor condition of the millions of farmers of the country, not the governor.

Jakhar said that despite its limited financial resources, the Punjab government, led by Captain Amarinder Singh, felt the pain of farmers as a pretext to waive loans of farmers. But, the Union government is not helping the state in any way.

He reminded the finance minister that only farmers of Punjab, by making themselves debtridden, made the country selfreliant in food.

Gurdaspur MP also criticised the SAD MPs for remaining silent on the jaitely’s statement and during the debate on the issue.

Instead of making farmers debtfree in the country, the Modi government is engaged in making the country farmerfree. SUNIL KUMAR JAKHAR , MP