The Congress party and Rahul Gandhi specifically has been repeatedly promising that farmer loan waivers will be granted to all farmers within 10 days of Congress coming to power. In fact, Rahul Gandhi has touted this as one of his achievements through the campaigning for 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Now, Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath, a senior leader of the Congress party has conceded that complete loan waiver for farmers is not possible in 10 days because nobody has a magic wand.
#OperationKarzMaafi | ‘Farm loan waiver not possible in 10 days, nobody has magic wand’, says Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath conceding that pre-poll promise hasn’t been fulfilled. Tune in to watch here – https://t.co/LGCyJUEBn5 pic.twitter.com/xPHs0xa82u
— Republic (@republic) May 7, 2019
Today, Congress apparently handed over a list of 21 lakh farmers whose loans had been waived off by Congress state governments as BJP, in their ‘aarop patra’ had mentioned non-fulfilment of this promise as one of the accusations against the MP government.
In a press briefing held by Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath, Nath mentioned that after promising the loan waiver, 21 lakh farmers’ loans had been waived off, however, a complete loan waiver is not possible within 10 days because the government does not have a magic wand.
He said there would be farmers who would say that their loans haven’t been waived off yet, but the fact remains that there would be some who would say that they have got the benefit from the Congress government of loan waiver. He also reiterated that the farmers whose loans have not been waived off would know that eventually, the Congress government would deliver because they can see that some of the farmers are saying that their loans have indeed been waived off.
#OperationKarzMaafi | ‘Farm loan waiver not possible in 10 days, nobody has magic wand’, says Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath conceding that pre-poll promise hasn’t been fulfilled. Tune in to watch here – https://t.co/LGCyJUEBn5 pic.twitter.com/HnGNIxCajQ
— Republic (@republic) May 7, 2019
Essentially, Kamal Nath drew a distinction between the Congress government’s intent to waive off loans of farmers and their intent to waive off loans. However, that is not how Congress or even Rahul Gandhi had projected the promise and its delivery.
Rahul Gandhi has repeated several times that as soon as the Congress government comes to power, all loans taken by all farmers would be waived off.
He has even taken to Twitter several times to claim that the promise has been fulfilled by Congress state governments in its entirety.
On 19th December 2018, Rahul Gandhi had taken to Twitter to say “It’s done! Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh have waived farm loans. We asked for 10 days. We did it in 2.
It’s done!
Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh have waived farm loans.
We asked for 10 days.
We did it in 2.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) December 19, 2018
In 2016, he also “urged the Prime Minister” to waive off farmer loans.
Met the PM on the plight of our farmers;urged Govt to waive loans of farmers &provide relief to them at the earliesthttps://t.co/c8dl12eucC
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) December 16, 2016
It is evident that Rahul Gandhi had declared in absolute terms that the Congress governments in the states have fulfiled their promise of loan waiver. While everyone knew that farmer loans have not been waived off by the governments in the states, Rahul Gandhi clearly kept lying to assert in absolute terms that Congress has fulfiled its promise. Now, Kamal Nath has conceded that full loan waiver in 10 days in an impossibility.
There have several incidents that prove the failure of the Congress government to deliver on its much-touted promise. In Madhya Pradesh, there have been several farmer suicides due to the failed promise. Several farmers had discovered fake loan waivers being registered in their names. The farmers had threatened to commit ‘mass suicide’ after their names appeared on the state government’s loan waiver list even though they do not have any dues or have loans far smaller than the ones that are listed.
A farmer from MP got a loan waiver of Rs 13 against a loan of Rs. 24,000. Further, many farmers discovered Rs. 25-30 or a few hundred rupees of loan waiver over their substantial loans. In fact, non-existent farmer loan of Rs. 120 crores were “waived off” by the Madhya Pradesh government.
While that would prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Rahul Gandhi’s promise was a mere “jumla”, one can expect Rahul Gandhi and the Congress to continue spreading this lie further.
