Political parties choose farm loan waiver for electoral gains: Traders

After the Congress waived loans of farmers in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, an umbrella traders' body on Thursday demanded low-interest loans for traders as well. The Federation of All India Vyapar Mandal said farm loan waivers have become electoral weapons for parties, but it’s the small businesspersons and traders who are bearing the burden of loans that banks give them at high-interest rates. It said the Mudra scheme of the government has mostly remained on paper, and it was time the government asked banks to offer shopkeepers and traders loans at 8-9 per cent, similar to what big industrialists