Cong. corners Naidu over his loan waiver statement

In the wake of Union Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu's comment against loan waiver, Congress on Thursday said that former's party is "anti-farmer" and the Cabinet Minister "himself doesn't care about the farmers."

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said that Naidu is not a farmers leader

"BJP is anti-farmer. Venkaiah Naidu ji is not farmer's leader. He doesn't care about the farmers," said Singh.

Echoing similar sentiment, Congress leader Surjewala also had castigated Naidu and said that the Union Minister should not have made such a harsh statement at a time when the situation in Madhya Pradesh is so volatile.

"Farmers are committing suicide and Venkaiah Naidu is saying that it has become fashion. We never thought that BJP will mock this situation. This is condemnable and shameful. In Madhya Pradesh, the government has lost his mental balance, the Chief Minister is not providing relieve facility," said Surjewala.

Naidu earlier in the day said loan waiver has become a fashion and should be waived in extreme situations only.

"Loan waiver has become fashion now. It should be waived but in extreme situations only. It's not a final solution. You have to take care of systems. The farmers should be taken care in distress," Naidu said at India's largest municipal bond programme here.

Naidu, however, later defended his stance, while saying that he was referring to the approach of the political parties who are not focussing on long term, but only short term problems.

"I am being misquoted. My statement was in a context that the political parties instead of addressing long term issues and bringing in structural policy changes are adopting short term methods which has become the fashion. I was referring to the approach of the political parties particularly of going to the level of populist schemes like giving grinders, mixies, and lollipops to children," Naidu told ANI.