Rajasthan mulls loan waivers for kin of dead farmers

The Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan held its first meeting to discuss the smooth execution of loan waiver for farmers on Saturday. The party is mulling to extend the benefit of loan waiver to the kin of farmers, who had committed suicide during the tenure of the BJP government. The Congress had announced a Rs 19,000 crore loan waiver for farmers after coming to power.

"It was proposed that the families of the farmers who had committed suicide during the previous government's tenure be also extended the benefit of farm loan waiver scheme announced by the government," an official said.

The Congress claims that 250 farmers committed suicide in Rajasthan under tenure of former chief minister Vasundhara Raje. The farmers killed themselves allegedly because they were not getting right price for their produce.

Deputy CM Sachin Pilot has alleged that middlemen benefitted from the procurement policy of the Centre and the state when the revised Minimum Support Prices were announced for crops.

Gehlot along with his deputy, Sachin Pilot, also convened a meeting to oversee the arrangements of Congress president Rahul Gandhi's visit to Jaipur on January 9. Gandhi would be addressing a huge rally in Jaipur to address the concerns of the farmers. He would also be bringing to the knowledge of the farmers what the state government is going to do for them.

The BJP has asked the Congress to announce relief measures for farmers whose crops have suffered damage due to ground frost in the extreme weather conditions prevailing in state. Several crops including spices like cumin seeds have been damaged in the winter frost. The Opposition has decided to organise Kisan Kumbh across two lakh panchayats in Rajasthan.

Farm Distress

• Ashok Gehlot government holds first meeting on Saturday to discuss smooth execution of loan waiver for farmers
• Congress claims 250 farmers committed suicide in Rajasthan during BJP leader Vasundhara Raje's tenure