Farm loan of only Rs 50,000 waived, not Rs 2 lakh, says Jyotiraditya Scindia

Bhopal: All India Congress Committee general secretary, Jyotiraditya Scindia, has taken pot shots at the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh for failing to fulfil the promise made by the Congress to write off crop loans of farmers up to Rs 2 lakh each, creating a ripple in the ruling party.

Mr Scindia’s attack on Chief Minister Kamal Nath incidentally came ahead of the October 21 by-election to Jhabua (ST) Assembly constituency in MP, billed as crucial for the ‘minority’ Congress government in the state. A victory for the ruling party in the by-election would help it gain majority in the house.

Addressing party workers in Bhind in MP on Thursday, Mr Scindia said, “Crop loan up to Rs 50,000 each for farmers could be waived but we have promised to write off farm loans up to Rs 2 lakh.”

Mr Scindia also took strong exception to the failure of the state government to release compensation to farmers who had suffered crop losses due to heavy rains and floods in the state.

Incidentally, Mr Scindia had a couple of days ago called for introspection by the top leadership of the Congress to save the party from being doomed.

State PWD minister Sajjan Singh Verma, a staunch loyalist of the chief minister, on Friday pulled up Mr Scindia for attacking Mr Nath. “Mr Scindia should know that Mr Nath is not only our Chief Minister but his chief minister too,” he remarked.

The opposition BJP grabbed the opportunity to attack the Kamal Nath government on the loan waiver issue.