'It's done': Cong waives farm loans in 3rd state

Jaipur: Two days after being sworn in, the Congress government in Rajasthan on Wednesday waived short-term crop loans from cooperative banks and loans of up to Rs 2 lakh taken by farmers from other banks. The move is line with the action taken by the governments in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the two other states where the Congress won the recent assembly elections.

Shortly after the announcement, Congress President Rahul Gandhi tweeted, "It's done! Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh have waived farm loans.We asked for 10 days. We did it in 2."

The decision was taken after a proper detailed discussion with officials from the concerned departments. A roadmap has been prepared so that the officers face no problem in following the decision, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot told reporters here.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi had promised during election campaign to waive farmers' loan in 10 days after the Congress comes to power and we have fulfilled the promise by issuing the order, he said. The promise was also repeated in the Congress manifesto for Rajasthan, where the party won 99 out of the 199 seats for which polling took place on December 7.

Gehlot attended office the first time on Wednesday but has held meetings with officials at his home after being sworn in on Monday. The waiver will apply to loans taken up to November 30, Gehlot said.