Karnataka Speaker cautions against loan waiver becoming a 'fashion'

Bengaluru: Ahead of the Congress-JDS coalition government's first budget tomorrow, Karnataka Assembly Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar on Wednesday sounded a note of caution about loan waiver becoming a "fashion".

Taking note of the discussions on farm loan waiver, the Speaker sought to know why no one was talking about making farmers capable of paying back. His intervention came during the debate on the motion of thanks to the Governor for his address to the joint session of legislature in the assembly, when BJP member Sriramulu said there was no mention about farm loan waiver in it, as promised by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy.

"We will get to know about the Chief Minister's promise on loan waiver in the budget tomorrow. But my question is what will happen if he (farmer) takes loan again and is unable to pay back.

Everyone is speaking of loan waiver, but no one wants to speak about making farmers capable of paying back," Kumar said. "Giving farmers remunerative prices for their produce, fixing the price of chemicals, pesticides, fertilisers, seeds and other inputs at favourable rates, along with maintaining the soil quality are the things we need to look into," he said.

The Kumaraswamy-led government is expected to announce the crop loan waiver in the budget, to provide relief to farmers reeling under drought for successive years.

Stating that it is true that loan waiver is needed to relieve farmers in distress, the Speaker said "butlet loan waiver not becomes a fashion."