V P Singh seeks national waiver of agri loans

Varanasi, Aug 11 (UNI) Alleging 40 farmers committing suicides in Uttar Pradesh during an year, former Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh today demanded a national policy be put in place for waiving outstanding agricultural loans.

Interacting with newspersons here, the Kisan Manch president said every day cases of farmers committing suicides under the pressure of mounting debts were being reported in the country.

''In UP itself as many as 40 farmers have committed suicide in an year,'' Mr Singh alleged and referred to Wednesday's incident here, in which an indebted farmer poisoned himself and two children to death.

The former PM said both the Centre and the state government were repsonsible for failing to check the grave phenomenon of farmers and weavers committing suicides under the burden of debt.

''A national policy to waive outstanding credit of farmers and weavers is urgently needed to tackle the situation,'' he added.

''During my government in 1989, I had started a scheme of waiving agricultural loans, with the Centre and the states sharing in the ratio of 75 per cent and 25 per cent the responsibility of repaying loans to the banks,'' Mr Singh claimed.

Agriculture is no longer a profitable venture for farmers, especially in light of non-availability of inputs like power, water, seeds and fertilisers, besides absence of proper state purchase of their produce.

Calling for a national movement on such suicides, Mr Singh said political colour should not be given to the issue. ''The movement should not only be led by farmers, but must find equal participation of weavers and labourers.'' Earlier, Mr Singh met the widow of the farmer Chote Lal Yadav, who poisoned himself and two minor children to death in the Chahi village on Wednesday.

UNI ARS VS KD PM1706