Mamata Banerjee questions farm loan waivers, triggers speculation of rift with Congress

Mamata Banerjee said that while some were announcing farm loan waivers, she was gathering information to ascertain if the move actually benefitted people on the ground.

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee has raised questions on the loan waivers for farmers being announced in several states. In an administrative meeting on Wednesday, the West Bengal Chief Minister said that while some were announcing farm loan waivers, she was gathering information to ascertain if the move actually benefitted people on the ground.

“There are some who are waiving farmers’ loans and I am gathering papers to find out whether farmers are actually benefited or not,” said the Trinamool Congress chief.

While Mamata targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over farmer insurance scheme, she also launched an attack on the Congress party without naming it by referring to loan waiver announcements. Her remark comes just days after newly-elected Congress governments in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh announced loan waivers for farmers.

Reacting to the TMC chief’s attack over farmer insurance scheme, BJP leader Rahul Sinha termed her as a “worthless chief minister”. He said, “She (Mamata Banerjee) is a worthless Chief Minister. She herself cannot do that much for farmers and is saying this.”

The attack by Mamata over farm loan waiver, meanwhile, triggers speculation on whether she is distancing herself from the Congress party. Even when the Assembly election results were declared on December 11, Mamata had taken to Twitter to wish the people and not the Congress in particular. She, however, congratulated Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief K Chandrasekhar Rao separately for victory in the southern state. The Telangana Chief Minister also met Mamata in Kolkata days after the result.