Only ₹17,000 crores crop loans waived, against ₹40,000 crores assured: BRS MLA Harish Rao

Former Minister Harish Rao criticizes Congress Government for misleading people with incomplete Crop Loan Waiver Scheme implementation.

Former Minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLA from Siddipet T. Harish Rao on Saturday (August 17, 2024) has criticised the Congress Government for misleading the people by partially implementing the Crop Loan Waiver Scheme and pretending to have fulfilled the commitment.

At a press conference at the Telangana Bhavan in Hyderabad, Mr. Harish Rao noted that during the run up to the State Assembly elections 2023, then Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) chief A. Revanth Reddy had claimed that loan waiver would cost around ₹40,000 crore and promised to waive off by December 9 as a gift to Sonia Gandhi when the Congress Government assumed power.

However, the promise was not kept. Later, in a bid to win the Parliament elections 2024, Mr. Revanth Reddy promised said loan waiver would cost ₹31,000 crores and promised to waive off by August 15, but only ₹26,000 crores were allocated in the budget, he pointed out.

Mr. Harish Rao questioned the discrepancies, pointing out that the numbers kept changing, raising doubts about the number of farmers who were excluded and the reasons for it. He highlighted that on the Independence Day, Mr. Reddy claimed the loan waiver was completed. In fact, only ₹17,000 crores were actually waived for 22 lakh farmers, far less than the ₹40,000 crores originally promised. This shows that ₹23,000 crores was reduced without an explanation.

The former Minister further pointed out that the Congress had promised to benefit 47 lakh farmers, but only 22 lakh received the waiver benefit, which is just 46% of the promised number. He reasoned that about 25 lakh farmers were deceived, yet the Chief Minister and his allies boast about the loan waiver.

Mr. Harish Rao challenged the Chief Minister to prove that the loan waiver was implemented completely. “You choose the place, date, and time, and let’s go to any district, constituency, or village—your constituency or mine,” he challenged.

He made light of the demand made by the CM asking him to resign. “He swore on various deities to implement the loan waiver, but he has broken these promises, betraying not just the farmers but also the gods and goddesses he invoked,” he said.