Click to play videoNew Delhi: In the biggest ever one-time sop in independent India, Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday waived off farm loans worth Rs 60,000 crore to 4 crore small and marginal farmers.
United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi congratulated the government for the loan waiver package for farmers announced in the Union Budget.
"Hamare UPA sarkar ne jo kisano ke liye kiya hai, jo karz ki mafi ker rahe hain woh ek krantikari kadam hai. Ek aithihasik kadam hai. Mein Prime Minister badhai deti hoon aur hamare sabhi kisan bhaiyon ko bhi badhai deti hoon (UPA government has done a commendable job by announcing the loan waiver for farmers. This is an historic step. I congratulates the Prime Minister and the farmers)," Sonia said after the presentation of the Budget in Parliament.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) is not entirely happy with the Budget. Its Politburo member Sitaram Yechury said the loan waiver package won't be of much help to farmers.
"This loan waiver is concerned only with those farmers who have taken loans from nationalised banks, cooperatives or governmental institutions. This is unfortunately only 1/3rd of the overall farming community. Two thirds of them are victims of private moneylenders. While 1/3 rd will get relief, which is welcome, but no measures have been taken for relief for the others. The bulk of suicides of the farmers are taking place in those sections," he said.
But Prime Minister Manmohan Singh justified the waiver.
"Our farmers are our biggest businessmen. They produce some of the most essential commodities and if they are depressed then it is not good for the country. I sincerely believe that our government has been generous in terms of its response. It is also an unorthodox response but considering the amount of depression that prevails in the agricultural sector, this is in response that is fully justified," the Prime Minister said.
The Opposition, too, looked to drill holes in the UPA's last Budget. Janata Dal (United) leader Digvijay Singh said that the Budget is an election-oriented one and does not help the common man.
"The same things which they have done today could have been done fours years back also. Of course we could have done the same thing. We did not do it so we paid the price. It is not at all a good Budget. I consider it a samvedaanheen (without compassion) Budget because 25,000 farmers have lost their lives. Had this waiver come earlier their lives would have been saved. It is not too late. It is a question of vote since you are looking for vote you are doing all this. But you are not concerned with the common man," Digvijay Singh said.
Even though one of the UPA's Left allies, the Communist Party of India (CPI) welcomed the loan relief package, but it is also not entirely happy with social sector spending.
"As far as the plight of small and marginal farmers and other farmers is concerned, the Left has been demanding the waiver of the loans. The budget has announced the waiver of the loans and one time relief to farmers. We welcome this step. having said this, I must point out that we had demanded the government to constitute a National Debt Relief Commission. That has not been announced and we had asked the government to reduce the interest rate to the farmers and bring it down to four per cent simple interest rate. That has not been done," CPI national secretary and MP D Raja said.
"Certain steps which the FM has taken are damage control measures but the direction of the economic reforms the same," Raja added.
Former finance minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Yashwant Sinha said that the Budget is unrealistic and does not cater to the aam aadmi.
"He (P Chidambaram) has not followed the policy prescriptions of the Economic Survey. What he has done for the farmers - the loan remission scheme - I don't think it can be implemented within the time schedule that he has mentioned in the Budget. The Budget contains a lot of half cooked, uncooked proposals and all in all it does not help the aam aadmi," he said.
However, the last word on the Budget came from Union Railway Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad, who in his own inimitable style explained why the Opposition was unhappy.
"Inka chatii phat raha hai Rail Budget se hi aur Rail Budget ke baad ye jo Bharat Sarkar ka vit Budget aaya to ismme inlogon ka hawa nikal gaya. Adhyaay ab inlogon ka samapt ho gaya vote ka. Ye vote ke liye sab kuch karte the aur communal virus ka jo sabse bada keeda hai inke dimag mein Advaniji ka ye aaj nikal gaya (They are not at all happy with the Rail Budget and after the Union Budget they have nothing to say. Their vote-bank politics is about to end. They are only interested in communal politics)," Lalu remarked.
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