Cong claim of farm loan waiver in Telangana ‘false’: Union Minister

PTI Hyderabad: Union Minister G Kishan Reddy, on Monday, accused Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi, of “misleading” voters in poll-bound Maharashtra and Jharkhand by claiming that Telangana, under its rule, implemented a farm loan waiver of Rs 31,000 crore. In reality, only Rs 17,869 crore has been waived so far, he said. Speaking to reporters here, Reddy, who is also Telangana BJP president, explained that the planned loan waiver was supposed to cover 38.63 lakh farmers with an outlay of Rs 33,245 crore. However, only 22 lakh farmers have benefited, leaving more than 16 lakh farmers still awaiting relief of Rs 15,376 crore under the government’s own conditions. “Yet, shamelessly, Congress and Rahul Gandhi are telling voters in Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and earlier in Jammu and Kashmir, that Rs 31,000 crore was waived in Telangana,” said the Union Coal Minister.

He challenged Congress to prove its commitment by having a sitting high court judge release a report on the loan waiver promise. Accusing the grand old party of deceiving the public with pre-election guarantees, Reddy stated that the “bankrupt politics” of Congress becomes apparent when examining its governance in Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, and Telangana. In Telangana, Congress promised to implement six “guarantees” within 100 days. Senior leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Chief Minister Revanth Reddy made promises, but people are questioning their progress as the government nears its first year in office, the union minister said.

Rahul Gandhi, set to visit Telangana on Tuesday, should clarify when the state government will deliver on its promises, including the ‘Rythu Bharosa’ farmers’ support scheme, financial aid for tenant farmers and farm workers, an unemployment allowance, Rs 2,500 to women, and one tola of gold for brides at marriage, Reddy said. He also criticised Congress for unfulfilled promises in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka, alleging that while Telangana had a surplus budget in 2014, the previous BRS egime burdened it with over Rs 7 lakh crore in debt.