Kamal Nath says 15 years of BJP rule in Madhya Pradesh saw Rs 2,000-crore farmer loan scam; vows action against those responsible

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath on Wednesday alleged a Rs 2,000 crore farmers’ loan scam during the previous 15-year-old BJP rule and vowed strict action against those involved in falsifying the list of beneficiaries. Kamal Nath on Wednesday met some farmers who have never taken a loan, but their names  have allegedly figured as beneficiaries. The list also included the names of farmers whose loans had allegedly been waived. [caption id=“attachment_5149671” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath. PTI[/caption] “This is a big scam, it is expected to be of more than Rs 2,000 crore. We will take strict action,” the chief minister said. Congress leader Shobha Oza said, “A Rs 2,000 crore loan scam happened during the 15-year rule of BJP and the Kamal Nath government will take the issue to its logical conclusion. No one will be spared.” Last week, a farmer in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district died due to cardiac arrest after getting to know that he had a huge amount of debt pending. His family claimed he had not even been able to secure a loan. The deceased, identified as Mukundi Adivasi, was a resident of village Sardai Nayanagar. Mukundi came to know that he had a loan of approximately Rs 5 lakh against his name as this was what was written in a list posted at the local cooperative body office in the district. According to one of his family members, Mukundi was scared after getting to know about the loan and his condition deteriorated on Wednesday. He was immediately taken to a hospital but was declared brought dead by doctors. A local bank in the area had published a list containing the names of farmers who have taken loans, as part of the process initiated by the Congress-led Madhya Pradesh government to waive the loans of farmers amounting up to Rs two lakh per head, as was promised by the party during the state assembly elections in 2018. During polls campaign, Congress president Rahul Gandhi had announced waiving farm loans within 10 days after being voted to power. Apart from Mukundi, there are other farmers as well who have alleged that their names have been included in the farm loan waiver list even though they have never taken out a loan.