Cong for all-party meet on AP loan-waiver

New Delhi: The Leader of Opposition in Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council, C Ramachandraiah, on Tuesday asked Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to call an all-party meeting on the farm loan-waiver.

On issues like water-sharing or fees reimbursement, he said the two State Chief Ministers should sit across the table and sort out the issues. It is not as if they are enemies, where they do not have even lines of communication open. Between the two States, a number of issues are bound to arise and the two Chief Ministers should make it a point to sit down and sort out the issues.

Talking to media persons in the capital, Ramachandraiah said there is a spectre of uncertainty looming large on the farmers. With the belated onset of monsoon in Andhra Pradesh, the kharif agricultural operations have yet to start. With no clarity emerging on rescheduling of farm loans, the farmers are a worried lot. He wanted the Chief Minister to come clean on loan-waiver. The Kotaiah Committee is being seen as a ploy to delay the decision. When all the information is available with the lending banks, what was the mandate for the Kotaiah Committee, he asked. The terms of reference of Kotaiah Committee, too, were not known, he said.
Farmers were willing to pay back the loans. Chandrababu Naidu gave a call to the farmers not to repay loans. Now farmers are receiving notices from the banks and the State Government is not rising to the occasion to help the farmers.

The Congress leader said he would not be surprised, if Chandrababu Naidu even rolls back his decision. He had done it in the past, like in the case of subsidy rice scheme and prohibition – the twin planks on which he came to power in 1994.