PM should announce loan waiver for Raj farmers: Pilot

Jaipur : Congress leader Sachin Pilot today demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi announce loan waiver for the state’s farmers during his visit next week to Rajasthan. Modi is likely to visit Udaipur on August 29.

Several states have announced crop loan waiver, but no such initiative has been taken in the BJP-ruled state, the Rajasthan Congress chief alleged. “There cannot be double standards for farmers. When the prime minister visits Udaipur, he should announce loan waiver for the farmers of the state,” he told reporters here.

Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje should persuade the prime minister for this, Pilot said. “Nearly 60 farmers committed suicide in the state last year and around 15 to 16 farmers have taken the extreme step this year and eight are from the Hadauti region,” he said, alleging that the BJP government was “anti-farmer”.

In more than three years of rule in the state, the government has not given any bonus on crops, Pilot claimed, adding that his party will hold rallies on farmers’ issues across the state from next month. The Congress leader claimed that BJP chief Amit Shah in his recent tours to poll-bound states had disclosed on who would be the chief ministerial candidates. However, this was not done for Rajasthan, he said.

“Shah announced that B S Yeddyurappa will be the chief ministerial face in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will lead the party in the assembly elections, but he did not disclose a face for Rajasthan during his recent visit,” Pilot said.

Now, the prime minister should make it clear that who will be the party’s chief ministerial candidate for the Rajasthan polls, he said. He also alleged that the BJP government was misusing the CBI against Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law, Robert Vadra, in an alleged land scam in the state.

“The BJP government had three years back formed a committee, but its findings were not made public. Those who were arrested in the alleged land deal cases are linked with the BJP and the findings of the committee should be made public,” Pilot said.

He also alleged that the state government is in the process of alloting prime real estates to “BJP in 28 (out of 33 districts) in the state without making its notification public”. “The government is conspiring to allot real estate at prime locations to the BJP silently, which is the violation of a high court ruling,” the Congress leader said.

On the Supreme court’s verdict on triple talaq, Pilot said the judgement should be respected and hoped that the Parliament will come up with a progressive and inclusive law that respects the sentiments. He also exuded confidence that his party would win the Ajmer Lok Sabha by-election. The seat fell vacant after the sitting MP and former minister Sanwarlal Jat died recently.

Pilot had represented the seat from 2009-2014. The name of the party’s candidate will be declared by the AICC, he said.