Loan waiver guidelines tomorrow: CM HD Kumaraswamy

Bengaluru: Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, who has been under pressure from the BJP to fulfil his promise to farmers to waive off their crop loans since assuming office, announced on Monday that the guidelines would be announced on May 30.

"I have already held a meeting with the officials concerned and collected all the necessary details. Everything is ready and I will be making a formal announcement on the farm loan waiver on Wednesday,”  he told reporters in Delhi after a  meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

Mr Kumaraswamy said the farmers did not have  to worry about the waiver anymore as he was committed to fulfilling his promise made to them in his party’s manifesto. “My request to the farming community is not to fall prey to the conspiracy of former Chief Minister and state BJP president, B S Yeddyurappa," he added.

Claiming that a section of the media was creating confusion among the people on the issue  by 'distorting' his statement and giving the impression that he was at the mercy of the Congress on the waiver, he said,  “ I have never backtracked from my promise on the crop loan waiver,  but only explained to people that I had to take  my coalition partner, the Congress , into confidence  before taking any major decision. Unfortunately, my statement has been twisted by some of the media only to create confusion among people".

Emphasising that it was high time the BJP stopped playing politics on farmers' issues, he declared, "I will not be in the CM's chair even for a minute if I fail to fulfill my promise on the loan waiver. I am a very sensitive person and not a power monger".

About his meeting with Mr Modi the Chief Minister said he had over an hour long discussion with him  on various current issues and had requested him to  supply coal to the state to keep the three thermal plants at Ballari, Yeramaras and Raichur running. 

BSY gives CM one week

State BJP chief B.S. Yeddyurappa on Monday threatened to launch a state-wide agitation unless the government waived the farmers’ crop loans within a week.
Although  two farmers had committed suicide recently after failing to repay their loans, the Chief Minister was busy with Cabinet formation and giving lame excuses against waiving off the farm crop loans, he deplored.

“The BJP will not sit idle if the government delays in taking a decision on the issue,” he warned, also decrying the fact that the state government had used police force to disperse the agitators and arrested BJP legislators and MPs during the bandh called on the issue in the state on Monday.

Mr Yeddyurappa, who was speaking to reporters, claimed Mr. Kumaraswamy had been disrespectful to the people of the state by saying  he was answerable  to the Congress and not them on the issue of crop loan waiver. “The CM should tender an unconditional apology to the people for saying such a thing,” he demanded.