LOANS FROM MONEYLENDERS NOT COVERED: BANSAL
Chandigarh March 16:
While rejecting the demand of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for Rs 20,000 crore special economic package on account of depletion of natural resources, union minister of state for finance Pawan Bansal said today that the government would not pay farmers’ debt due to commission agents.
“Badal has erroneous impression that the Centre is not a money-minting agency, which can print and disburse any amount of money to the states. Finance minister Manpreet Singh, who has a sound knowledge of the economics, should make Badal see reason as such demands have no logic,” Bansal told a press conference at the Chandigarh Press Club here today.
Bansal wondered why Badal, an alliance partner of the erstwhile NDA government, did not raise any such demand during the NDA regime. Terming the Rs 60,000 crore loan waiver scheme as historic, Bansal alleged that the Opposition was raising “non-issues” and it had been caught off guard by the government decision aimed at benefiting over four crore small and marginal farmers.
Answering a question whether the Central government would reimburse money paid by the state governments to moneylenders for the farmers’ debts, Bansal categorically stated that the Central government was in no position to reimburse the farmers’ debt paid to moneylenders by the state governments.
Avoiding a direct reply whether the loan waiver had been announced with an eye on the general elections, Bansal said if the decision brought electoral gains we would derive benefit from it.” “Good economics is good politics,” Bansal quipped, hinting that the decision could better UPA’s electoral prospects.
Source : Punjab Mail Online
Chandigarh March 16:
While rejecting the demand of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for Rs 20,000 crore special economic package on account of depletion of natural resources, union minister of state for finance Pawan Bansal said today that the government would not pay farmers’ debt due to commission agents.
“Badal has erroneous impression that the Centre is not a money-minting agency, which can print and disburse any amount of money to the states. Finance minister Manpreet Singh, who has a sound knowledge of the economics, should make Badal see reason as such demands have no logic,” Bansal told a press conference at the Chandigarh Press Club here today.
Bansal wondered why Badal, an alliance partner of the erstwhile NDA government, did not raise any such demand during the NDA regime. Terming the Rs 60,000 crore loan waiver scheme as historic, Bansal alleged that the Opposition was raising “non-issues” and it had been caught off guard by the government decision aimed at benefiting over four crore small and marginal farmers.
Answering a question whether the Central government would reimburse money paid by the state governments to moneylenders for the farmers’ debts, Bansal categorically stated that the Central government was in no position to reimburse the farmers’ debt paid to moneylenders by the state governments.
Avoiding a direct reply whether the loan waiver had been announced with an eye on the general elections, Bansal said if the decision brought electoral gains we would derive benefit from it.” “Good economics is good politics,” Bansal quipped, hinting that the decision could better UPA’s electoral prospects.
Bansal said the loan waiver scheme would cover about 2.95 crore small and marginal farmers (30 per cent) in Punjab, while the remaining 70 per cent of the eligible farmers would get the benefit of 25 per cent waiver of loans. Similarly, in Haryana, about 4.19 lakh small and marginal farmers (73.6 per cent) of the total farmers in the state would benefit by the scheme while the remaining 26.4 per cent would get the 25 per cent benefit
Source : Punjab Mail Online
