CM SHIVRAJ SINGH CHOUHAN DARES KAMAL NATH TO DEBATE ON LOAN WAIVER

Team Absolute|Bhopal Unfazed by his agriculture minister admitting in the State assembly that the previous Congress government waived off farm loans of over 26 lakh farmers, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday dared his predecessor Kamal Nath to debate over the issue. “Kamal Nathji karja mafi pe kahi bhi bahas kar lo (Kamal Nath, I’m ready for a debate on the issue of the loan waiver anywhere),” Chouhan told journalists on Friday. Reiterating his old allegations about the Congress’s promise of farm loan waiver being a sham, the CM said “He (Kamal Nath) has promised to waive off all loans of all farmers up to Rs 2 lakh limit. Have all farm loans up to the limit of Rs 2 lakh actually been waived off. Either I’m lying or else the Congress and Kamal Nath are lying.” Notably, waiving off all loans of farmers up to Rs 2 lakh limit was one of the major poll promises that was instrumental in the Congress’s return to power in Madhya Pradesh in December 2018, after a gap of 15 years. Notably, On September 21, in a written reply to questions of two Congress MLAs in the Vidhan Sabha, MP Agriculture Minister Kamal Patel said waiver for nearly 27 lakh farmers had been approved since December 2018. However, it was the Congress government that was in power then. It lost power only in March this year.The answers embarrassed the BJP government, prompting another Minister to claim government officials in the department had provided incorrect information. Meanwhile, Patel said an inquiry had been initiated.