Osmanabad (Maharashtra): Under pressure to enlarge the ambit of Union Budget's farm loan waiver scheme, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Monday said her party felt the land ceiling cap be increased to allow more farmers to benefit from the package.
Farmers in regions like Vidarbha and Marathwada have larger land holdings and due to scanty rainfall and "we feel the benefits must be extended to them," Gandhi said, addressing a farmers' rally in this town of Marathwada region.
"This issue (of extending the benefits) was raised in Parliament by some MPs, including Rahul Gandhi, and I hope that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram will take the appropriate steps," she said.
The remarks by the UPA Chairperson come within 10 days of similar demands made by Pawar at a farmer's rally in neighbouring Beed district. She did not refer to Pawar or his party NCP.
However, in an apparent reference to NCP, Congress' Maharashtra unit chief Prabha Rau asked those taking credit for the announcement, to do some 'rethinking' saying, "it was due to a letter sent by us on March 10, 2006 following farmer suicides that meetings on the subject were held by various bodies including the Planning Commission."
Rau said such leaders must rather concentrate their energies on creating a better coordination between the Centre and state so that Maharashtra benefits.
"We felt the farmers are sad and a worried lot due to which the decision to waive the loans was taken so that four crore farmers benefit," Gandhi said.
Speaking on the loan waiver, Gandhi said the government had got the feeling that farmers were a unhappy and worried lot due to which the exemption was announced. The loan waivers are expected to benefit four crore farmers across the country.
In an apparent reference to the recent campaign by Raj Thackeray-led MNS against the north Indian community in the state, the UPA Chairperson said, "Each corner of our motherland belongs to the people of the country and all of us must stay in harmony."
Commenting on BJP's criticism that UPA government was soft on terrorism, Gandhi said, "Terrorism is a very important issue and we do not need anybody's certificate."
Referring to BJP's prime ministerial candidate L K Advani, she said, "Such statements are unfortunately coming from a former Home Minister during whose tenure our Parliament was attacked by terrorists."
In her 12-minute-long speech, Gandhi also praised the Vilasrao Deshmukh Government in Maharashtra, saying they were adhering to the policies of the Congress for growth and development.
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