Karnataka order on Rs 49,000 cr farm loan waiver soon
Bengaluru, July 30 : Karnataka will soon issue an official order with guidelines to waive off agricultural loans worth Rs 49,000 crore, giving relief to distressed farmers across the state, said an official statement on Monday.
"An official order on guidelines will be issued soon to waive agricultural loans to the tune of Rs 49,000 crore," said the statement from the Chief Minister's Office.
Earlier, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has directed Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Zilla Parishads (local bodies) in all the 30 districts across the state to implement the waiver scheme transparently.
"The Chief Minister has cautioned the DCs and CEOs on the role of middlemen who try to misuse the waiver scheme and misguide the farmers," added the statement.
Addressing a two-day conference of DCs and CEOs from all the districts here, Kumaraswamy directed them to redress public grievances, visit talukas (local bodies) and clear the files at the earliest.
Though the Chief Minister first announced Rs 34,000 crore crop loan waiver from the state's co-operative banks in the state budget on July 5, the relief was subsequently extended to farmers who raised loans from state-run banks as well.
Total loans amounting to Rs 49,000 crore to be waived include about Rs 38,000 crore crop loans granted to the farmers by state-owned banks and about Rs 9,500 crore of current loans.
The Chief Minister advised the district officials to provide skill development training to unemployed youth.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
