UP waiver tipping point for Maharashtra after AP, Telangana: CM Devendra Fadnavis

MUMBAI: A domino effect of loan write-offs by neighbouring states followed by the Uttar Pradesh waiver led to his decision on waiving farm loans, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis has said.
Fadnavis conceded that pressure was piling with the write-offs, and a tipping point was reached with the announcement by Uttar Pradesh following BJP’s win.
“Neighbouring Telangana and Andhra Pradesh did it first.It created pressure and then UP announced the waiver. The demand had been there but it became very strong after UP’s decision,” he told a group of visiting mediapersons at his residence, ‘Varsha’, on Wednesday, two days after the major populist gesture. He also felt other state governments may find it difficult to resist similar pressures.
He said the seeds of the waiver were sown in the Maratha protests as this was one of the major demands.
Indicating he was resigned to the possibility of announcing a waiver in the backdrop of farmers’ agitation in Maharashtra, Fadnavis said, “My view was this agitation should not turn violent.
I could see some political parties were trying to stoke violence behind the scenes... The government should not have an ego, it should be responsive. We held talks... Kal karna hai to aaj karo. Khatam karo (if we have to do it tomorrow, let’s do it now. Let’s be done with it).” This, despite the chief minister saying the agitation was strong only in “two and a half districts”.
The candid comments suggest that the political point-scoring which has come to mark farmers’ demands across the country may be difficult to resist irrespective of the government’s colour.
A string of states ruled by BJP and other parties has waived loans while the demand is growing in others, including those ruled by Congress. Fadnavis chuckled that the ripple effect will continue and Maharashra’s waiver will put pressure on Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka.
Asked about the parties he was accusing of trying to foment trouble, the CM said it was “allies in some places” and the opposition elsewhere.
“See who are named in the FIRs. They are political leaders. Farmers were peaceful,” he said.
In a way, Fadnavis acknowledged the quick decision on waiver was because he did not want to be on the edge again, as during the massive “Maratha marches” across districts from late 2016 till their culmination in March this year. He, in fact, linked loan waiver to the Maratha agitation, which was spurred by the demand for OBC status for the community.
“Maratha agitation was big, drew unprecedented crowds, but very peaceful. But I must say the seeds of loan waiver were sown in the Maratha agitation. It was their biggest demand,” he said.
For the young head of the BJP government, the waiver will place a burden of over Rs 25,000 crore on the Maharashtra exchequer. “It will be a stress on our finances. But we will manage,” he said.
“The order will be issued this month but implementation will take time. Andhra took time, UP is still doing it. It took nine months in 2008 (UPA). It is a difficult task,” he said.
However, Fadnavis said he wants to ensure that small farmers gained from the decision, underlining that the CAG unearthed “a big scam” in the implementation of the loan waiver granted by the UPA government at the Centre.
“The poor farmers did not benefit and the big ones cornered the money. Our challenge is that it should not happen like that,” he said.
According to the chief minister, “The ultimate is investment in agriculture. We will do the waiver. But the challenge is that investment in agriculture should not end.”