Siddaramaiah urges Nirmala Sitharaman to address NABARD’s loan cuts to farmers

PTI, Nov 22, 2024, 8:31 PM IST

Mysuru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday criticised NABARD for reducing the short-term loan allocation for farmers in the state by 58 per cent this year, calling it an “injustice” to the farming community.

Addressing reporters, Siddaramaiah said he had raised the issue with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, urging her to intervene with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), both of which fall under the Union Finance Ministry.

“I informed Sitharaman that Karnataka plans to provide Rs 9,012 crore in short-term loans to farmers. If NABARD does not increase its contribution, we will be forced to approach commercial banks, which charge 10–12 per cent interest, pushing our farmers into financial distress,” he said.

He noted that in the 2023-24 fiscal year, NABARD had extended Rs 5,600 crore in loans to the state, significantly higher than the allocation this year.

Siddaramaiah also criticised Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi and H D Kumaraswamy, both of whom hail from Karnataka, for their ‘silence’ on the matter.

“If Joshi defends NABARD’s loan reduction, is he justifying this injustice to farmers? And what is Kumaraswamy, who calls himself a son of the soil, doing about it?” he asked.

Responding to a query about Gautam Adani, charged by the US Justice Department over bribing Indian officials, Siddaramaiah questioned why the industrialist had not been arrested despite a warrant. “The entire country knows who is protecting Adani,” he remarked.

Taking a jibe at the BJP’s stance on Below Poverty Line (BPL) cards, Siddaramaiah said, “It was Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who enacted the Food Security Act, which the BJP initially opposed. Former Union Minister Murli Manohar Joshi criticised it. We provided 7 kg of rice per person under the scheme, but Yediyurappa reduced it to 5 kg. Now his son Vijayendra is raising questions.” He further pointed out that the BJP had introduced rules barring government employees and income taxpayers from holding BPL cards, but its members are now protesting and taking pictures of the issue.