Bhopal: A political row has erupted in Madhya Pradesh over a claim by the Kamal Nath government about the writing off of a crop loan of kin of former chief minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national vice-president Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi waved documents to establish the state government’s claim at his election meeting in Sagar in the state on Thursday.
He asked Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath, who was flanked by him, to send copies of documents to Mr Chouhan to call his alleged bluff.
Minutes after Mr Gandhi flaunted the documents at his election meeting, Mr Chouhan’s brother Rohit Singh, the purported beneficiary of the farm loan
waiver scheme, lodged a complaint with the local divisional commissioner disowning the purported application submitted to the government seeking to write off his crop outstanding.
“I have never applied for a farm loan waiver. In fact, I am not eligible for the scheme since I am an income tax payee. My signature on the application seeking to waive loans has been forged. It is a political conspiracy to defame the former chief minister Mr Chouhan”, Mr Singh told reporters late on Thursday evening.
“I have no outstanding. I have received ‘no due’ certificate from my bank showing that I have no dues. Then, how can I ask for writing off my loans?” he asked.
He announced to lodge a complaint with local police seeking action against the person who had allegedly forged his signature in the application seeking farm loan waiver.
The former chief minister came under attack by the ruling Congress when he started a campaign in the state claiming that the state government has failed to fulfill his poll promise to waive farm loans.
He claimed that outstanding of not a single farmer in the state has been written off.
However, the chief minister asserted that farm loans of 21 lakh peasants in the state have so far been waived by his government and sent documents establishing his claim to Mr Chouhan.
It has become a major issue in the ongoing LS elections in MP.
