more-in Former Minister Vadde Sobhanadreeswara Rao has termed Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu’s remark that seeking a “farm loan waiver has became a fashion” an insult. “We demand an apology from Mr. Venkaiah Naidu,” he said at a press conference here on Sunday. It was unfortunate that a senior leader like Mr. Naidu, who claims to be farmer’s son, made such comments. It showed his attitude towards the poor farmers. The Union Minister had forgotten the fact that it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who sowed the seed to a series of loan waiver demands across the country by promising one for Uttar Pradesh in the run-up to the elections. In fact, UP had less number of farmers’ suicide cases compared to other States. Still Mr. Modi made it an electoral promise, Mr. Rao said The BJP, in the run-up to the 2014 elections, promised to implement the Swaminathan Committee recommendations if it was voted to power. The BJP’s stance changed after assuming power. The Central government filed an affidavit in the apex court that the economy would be affected if the committee’s recommendations were implemented. “Is it not doublespeak?” he asked. The monetary burden on the cultivators was an outcome of the Centre failing to fulfil its promise of providing minimum support price. The government was not ready to give loan waiver but had written off the bad debts of industrialists to the tune of ?1.16 lakh crore, Mr. Rao said.

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