Congress demands farm loan waiver in Gujarat

Ahmedabad, Nov 5 (PTI) Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil on Wednesday said some farmers in Gujarat committed suicide due to crop loss caused by unseasonal rains and demanded the government compensate them for the entire cost of their cultivation and also waive their debts.

He questioned the stoppage of crop loss insurance in Gujarat since 2020, saying that had it been operational, lakhs of farmers could have been saved from financial ruin.

Gohil said Congress would launch "Khedut Akrosh Yatra" from November 6 to 13 to highlight the sufferings of agriculturists of the Saurashtra region.

"Farmers are in great distress, but the government is creating hardship for them in the name of crop survey. Many complaints have been raised by farmers during the survey process. The government should stop this drama and compensate farmers for the entire cultivation cost. The farmers are in dire straits,"the Rajya Sabha member said.

He claimed some farmers in Devbhumi Dwarka and Gir Somnath districts committed suicide due to crop failure.

Gohil said the erstwhile Congress-led UPA government at the Centre had waived farmers' debts worth Rs 72,000 crore.

"Congress governments of Karnataka and Telangana can directly pay Rs 16,000 and Rs 18,000 per acre in the farmers' accounts. Similarly, crop loans in Gujarat should be written off, and compensation should be paid as per the plantation," he demanded. PTI KA PD NSK