Loan waiver: SAD hits out at Cong govt, accuses it of trying

The SAD today said the Congress government should tell the people why no policy has been framed to completely waive loans of farm labourers and Dalits, and accused the Amarinder Singh dispensation of trying to befool the farming community.

In a statement, Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia claimed the government seemed to be taking farm labourers and Dalits "casually" and called on the people to gherao all Dalit MLAs of the Congress, including Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes and Minority Welfare Minister minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot.

"Even after 10 months in power it has failed to come up with a policy to waive their loans. The chief minister has given an assurance without any roadmap for waiving the loans of farm labourers and has refused to waive loans of the Dalits," he alleged.
 

Majithia accused the Congress government of having defrauded the farmers by reneging on its loan waiver promise.

"From a promised loan waiver of Rs 90,000 crore covering loans from cooperative and nationalised banks as well as private money lenders, the government has given a loan waiver of Rs 167 crore only and tried to befool the farming community that it has fulfilled its promise. Farm labourers and Dalits were kept out of even this puny waiver," he said.

Demanding that the Congress government implements loan waiver for farm labourers, the SAD leader said there were more than 10 lakh farm labourers in the state with an average loan of around Rs 1 lakh.

"The government must give a timeline for waiving their loans immediately. Punjab has the highest concentration of Dalit population in the country. A loan waiver should also be implemented for this oppressed section of society," Majithia said.

"These legislators (Dalit MLAs of Congress) need to tell the Dalit and backward community as to why they have failed to persuade the government in implementing a loan waiver for them.

"Dharamsot needs to resign immediately. Not only has he failed the Dalit community on this issue, he has failed to even ensure that they get the social welfare benefits they were getting during SAD-BJP rule", he said.