Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath Wednesday sensed a Rs 2000 crore farm loan "scam" under the watch of the erstwhile BJP government.
Quoting some farmers who had called on him, the chief minister said the fraud took place during the BJP rule.
"Farmers from 3-4 districts met me today. Someone said that their names figured on the list of the loan defaulters though they had not taken any loan," Nath told reporters.
"My guess is that this 'ghotala' (scam) could run into more than Rs 2000 crore," he said.
"...I told them to file a case, an FIR in police. We will take strict action," the chief minister said.
When contacted, a senior BJP leader said the Congress government should prove these allegations, which he termed as "baseless".
More From This Section
"Instead of levelling such charges, the Congress government should inquire into them. They have to fulfil their loan waiver promise," said state BJP vice-president Vijesh Lunawat.
The BJP leader alleged that a farmer from Agar Malwa district got loan waiver amount of just Rs 13 instead of Rs 23,815 he was eligible for under the Rs 50,000-crore farm debt-waiver 'Jai Kisan Rin Mukti Yojana'.
"It is ironical that there are reports that loan amounts worth Rs 5, Rs 13, Rs 27 are being waived off," he said.
Under the scheme, the government is writing off loan outstanding worth Rs 2 lakh of each eligible cultivator.
According to the government estimates, around 50 lakh farmers will be benefited.