Congress stages boycott in assembly over farmer loan waiver issue

The Congress yesterday staged a boycott in the state Assembly over the farm loan waiver issue. While debating the merits of the admissibility of the issue under Rule 310, Leader of the Opposition Indira Hirdayesh sought a deadline from the government for implementing the poll promise.

“The announcement was made by PM Narendra Modi during election campaign in Uttarakhand. While the UP chief minister fulfilled the poll promise in first cabinet meeting, the state government is yet to make similar announcement,” she said.

Replying to the Opposition charge, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prakash Pant said, “We will move according to our vision document. The farm debt is huge. We will have to examine it,” he said.

Earlier, Speaker Prem Chand Agarwal allowed the Congress to debate the issue after its members entered the well of the House forcing the Speaker to adjourn the House thrice. Due to the ruckus created by the Opposition, the Question Hour was completely washed out.

A total of 6.94 lakh small farmers have taken a loan of Rs 10,964 crore from various banks and the interest amount is Rs 934 crore.