Agriculture loans to corporate: Congress slams NDA government

ITANAGAR: The Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) has criticised the Narendra Modi-led BJP government for allegedly giving away several thousand crores of rupees to big corporates as agricultural loans, depriving the poor and marginalized farmers burdened with loan debts.

The party in a statement on Sunday alleged that the Modi government cleared ways for many big capitalists to take loans under agricultural schemes at the lowest interest rate of 4 percent only. It claimed that agricultural loans amounting to Rs 59000 crore went to 615 accounts in 2016, "with each account receiving Rs 90 crore, when the poor and marginalized under-debt farmers cannot avail such amounts of loan."

The party demanded that the Modi government disclose the names of the accounts holders who have availed the loans. The APCC said Modi's "anti-farmer policy" was forcing the farmers and agriculture labourers to commit suicide.

"When the farmers are committing suicide because of failing to repay loan, the Modi-led BJP government is giving away such huge amounts to some capitalist associates as agriculture loan," APCC spokesperson Mina Toko said in the statement.

She said the BJP government was "befooling and defrauding the poor farmers of the country" by giving unlimited benefits to the big corporates and agri-business companies in the name of agricultural loans.