Captain vows to settle farm loans post win

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh on Sunday dismissed Deputy Chief Minister's diatribe over the formers promise of farm debt waiver as “sheer frustration“ and again vowed to settle loans of farmers in the state on priority basis after forming government. On the day-long session of the Punjab Assembly tomorrow convened by the state government, he alleged that the ruling SAD had done this to hastily pass Bills, even though it will not help them attract voters.

“Crores of rupees have been looted by the corrupt Akalis through a series of scams in the last 10 years.These include a Rs 31,000 crore mega food grain and Rs 17,000 crore pesticide scams,“ Amarinder alleged here. The Punjab Congress chief assured he will do everything to “recover every penny and use it for the welfare of people, including settling farmers' debt“.

“Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal is trying to mislead people on debt waiver by spreading incorrect information,“ he alleged, adding the state just needs to take over the loans and arrange the required funds to settle them.

Amarinder claimed that the Badals, including Sukhbir and Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, are “frustrated and desperate as they have failed to do anything for the aggrieved and debt-ridden farmers of Punjab.“

The Badals have become “hysterical and frantic“ in their bid to underplay the success of Congress' `Karza Kurki Khatam, Fasal di Poori Rakam' campaign under which over 30 lakh farmers have sought debt waiver, he claimed.

“Sukhbir's diatribe on the waiver issue is fallout of the Badals' failure to woo voters ahead of the Assembly polls despite a plethora of sops and promises,“ Amarinder alleged.

They have realised that Congress' farm debt waiver promise has evoked overwhelming response from farmers and the party is striving at the national level for its early realisation, he claimed.

“It does not matter if the Centre supports the initiative. I am committed to waiving off every single loan of farmers,“ he said, claiming in the past he had waived-off debts.