Rahul meets Modi, seeks waiver of farm loans

Days after Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi said he would shortly release details of corruption involving the Prime Minister, he led a party delegation to meet Narendra Modi with a demand to waive all farm loans. Emerging from the meeting, Mr. Gandhi told journalists, "We met the Prime Minister to request him to waive all farm loans. There is a farming crisis in Punjab, all over the country." To a question on the Prime Minister's response, he said, "He [Mr. Modi] acknowledged that the farmers' issue is serious but he was mum on the loan waiver issue." Clearly, this was done for the optics as Assembly elections are due in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh early next year. In both States, the Congress has been distributing forms among farmers, with a promise that if elected, it will put pressure on the Centre to waive these loans. Meanwhile, it is learnt that the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party are irked with the Congress for having met the Prime Minister on its own. This has cast a shadow on the Opposition's plans to call on President Pranab Mukherjee to draw his attention to the untold hardships caused by demonetisation as it has broken the Opposition unity. It is learnt that these two parties will not join the Opposition delegation that will meet the President. Questions are being asked on why the Congress chose to meet the Prime Minister on a day when it was part of a 16-party delegation that is to meet the President.

Sources say Congress chief whip Jyotiraditya Scindia had, on behalf of the party, sought a meeting the Mr. Modi several weeks back, but time was given by the PMO only on Friday.