Congress duping farmers: Javadekar
New Delhi, Dec 24 : Attacked by the Congress over farmers' issues, the BJP Monday sought to turn the tables on the party by accusing it of "duping" farmers in the states where it came to power with the promise of waiving their loans.
Charging the Congress with betraying farmers, Union minister Prakash Javadekar also took a dig at its president Rahul Gandhi, saying peasants will now spoil his sleep.
He was apparently reacting to Gandhi's remark that he will not let Prime Minister Narendra Modi sleep till all farm loans are waived.
At a press conference, Javadekar quoted figures to claim that the Congress has done little to waive farmers' loan in states like Karnataka and Punjab and that it has also not met its promise in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, the three states it won recently.
Javadekar told reporters that the Congress had promised to waive all farm debt in these five states but has now turned back on its promise.
He told reporters that the Congress had promised a farm loan waiver of Rs 45,000 loan in Karnataka, but had not paid even Rs 75 crore so far.
Against the total farmers' loan of Rs 90,000 crore in Punjab, the state's Congress government has not even allocated Rs 3 crore in the budget, he said.
Farmers had hoped that they would no longer have to repay their dues but banks have been serving notices on them, causing them distressed, the BJP leader said.
Javadekar claimed 397 farmers have committed suicide in the six-month reign of the JD(S)-Congress government in Karnata.
Agriculture distress and farmers' woes have been a key campaign issue of Gandhi, who has blamed the Narendra Modi government for this, and political watchers believe that it has played a role in his party's win in the recent state polls.
The BJP's counter-offensive indicate that that the party has come to realise the seriousness of the issue and believes that it can corner the Congress over the matter.
Javadekar alleged that the Karnataka government even asked the nationalised banks to write off farmers' loans and has now come out with 52 eligibility conditions for the loan waiver.
Not more than 15 per cent farmers will be eligible, he said.
"The long reign of over 50 years of the Congress at the Centre is responsible for the farmers' plight, and the Modi government has tried to change their fortunes by giving then enhanced priced for their crops," he said.
"The Congress has always been anti-farmers. It is betraying them, duping them in the name of loan waiver," he alleged.
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41 lakh illicit liquor seized, 1.84 lakh arrested in major drive: K'taka Minister tells Assembly
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): The Karnataka Excise Department has conducted a statewide crackdown on illegal liquor trade over the last two years, resulting in arrests and seizures of alcohol, Karnataka Excise Minister R B Timmapur said on Tuesday.
As many as 1,09,017 people were arrested, and seizures included 13.66 lakh litres of liquor and 27.19 lakh litres of beer, he said in a written reply to a starred question by Harihar BJP MLA B P Harish in the Karnataka Assembly.
The Minister said the enforcement drive covered the financial year 2023–24, 2024–25 up to June, and 2025–26 from July to October, targeting unauthorised liquor manufacture, storage, sale and transportation across the State.
"During this period, statewide enforcement drives resulted in a total of 1,84,570 raids against illegal liquor sales,” Timmapur said.
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He noted that 9,179 non-bailable cases and 91,968 bailable and compoundable cases under Section 15(A) of the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, were registered during the same period.
According to him, there have been no reports indicating that students have become addicted to alcohol due to illegal liquor sales.
The sale of alcohol to minors is strictly prohibited under the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, and the department has issued periodic instructions to initiate legal action against violators, with strict enforcement and investigation measures in place, the Minister said.
Excise officials are carrying out regular road and night patrols, collecting intelligence, monitoring habitual offenders and conducting raids to identify illicit distillation units, unauthorised liquor outlets and spurious liquor manufacturing centres, he said, adding the department is also enforcing the law to prevent the production, storage, sale and transport of spurious, non-duty-paid and unauthorised liquor.
Regular patrols are being conducted on national and state highways, with suspicious vehicles being subjected to checks.
At the district level, standing committee meetings are held under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioners, and joint operations are carried out with the police and forest departments to curb excise-related offences.
The department is also conducting awareness programmes through Gram Sabhas and in schools and colleges to educate the public and students about the physical, mental and social health hazards associated with alcohol addiction and substance abuse, Timmapur added.
