As Congress Amps up Pressure Over Loan Waivers, Gujarat Waives off Rs 650 Cr Rural Electricity Bills

New Delhi: Close on the heels of the Congress governments in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh announcing farm loan waivers, the BJP-led government in Gujarat too on Tuesday announced that it will waive off electricity bills of connection holders in rural areas to the tune of Rs 650 crore.

The announcement by the Gujarat government is limited to rural areas. The move will benefit 6 lakh 22 thousand rural households.

“Total 6.22 lakh connection holders in rural areas across the state will be benefited with this waiver to the tune of Rs 650 crore pending electricity bills,” Gujarat’s energy minister Saurabh Patel said.

The minister said these connections were cut off due to power theft and non-payment of bills. “These are domestic, agricultural as well as commercial connections,” Patel said.

Earlier today, Rahul Gandhi — boasting that Congress governments in MP and Chhattisgarh came good upon their farm loan waiver promise — challenged the Narendra Modi government to follow suit at the Centre.

Addressing the media in the Parliament complex, Gandhi said the government has turned a blind eye to the loans given to 15 top industrialists of the country, but has made no effort to alleviate the woes of the farmers in the last four years.

Rahul promised that he will not let the PM sleep peacefully until the debts of the farmers are waived off.

Immediately after taking oath as CM of Madhya Pradesh, Kamal Nath cleared the farmers’ loan waiver file. The loans of farmers up to Rs 2 lakh will be waived off, the order stated, adding that loans extended by all the nationalised and cooperative banks would be covered in the announcement, the order further said.

Following suit, within hours of being sworn-in as Chhattisgarh Chief Minister, Bhupesh Baghel too announced the farm loan waiver amounting to Rs 61 billion. The new government has also decided to raise minimum support price of paddy to Rs 2,500 per quintal.