Yechury wants loan waiver, ban on forward trading

Nagpur, Aug 21 (UNI) Communist Party of India (Marxist) Polit Bureau member and Rajya Sabha MP Sitaram Yechury has supported the demand for complete waiver to the farmers' loans in Vidarbha and a ban on forward trading in essential commodities.

Speaking at a 'meet the press' programme hosted by Nagpur Union of Working Journalists (NUWJ) here yesterday, Mr Yechury said the Prime Minister's package would provide some immediate relief to the farmers, but the government should initiate some long-term measures, including land reforms, to solve the agrarian crisis in Vidarbha.

Pointing out that Rs 1.5 lakh crore of income tax was in arrears and Rs one lakh crore in outstanding loans due from the industrialists, he said the government could generate the necessary resources to improve the lot of farmers, including complete loan waiver, even if it recovered half of this amount.

Forward trading resulted in hoarding of essential commodities, and shooting prices. Farmers do not get remunerative prices for their produce, but essential commodities become dearer, causing inflation, he said.

Mr Yechury called for an amendment in the Constitution to make it mandatory for the government to obtain Parliament's approval before signing any treaty with a foreign power. At present, only a no-confidence motion could be brought against the government if the Parliament was not satisfied with a treaty, but the pact itself could not be scrapped, he pointed out.

MORE UNI XR MQA VP1250