No gimmick of loan waiver for farmers in interim budget: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday said his government, in its interim budget, did not resort to the Congress' "gimmick" of loan waiver as it will not help poor farmers, and instead assured Rs 6,000 per year permanently.

No previous governments have made such a huge assistance scheme for farmers post-Independence, Modi claimed at a BJP rally here.

The prime minister's Kishan Samman Nidhi Yojana will provide Rs 6,000 to over 12 crore farmers with small holdings by transferring the fund every year in their bank accounts, he said.

"This means that there will be an expenditure of Rs 75,000 crore every year for this scheme," he said, adding that the government is trying to commence transfer of the first tranche of the assistance to the farmers' accounts as soon as possible.

He said the scheme will provide succour to the poor farmers who have never got the benefits of loan waiver.

Modi said with such a huge expenditure, his government could have also made a "great noise" over loan waiver like the Congress had done before the 2008-09 general elections.

"But our intent and policy are clean, which is why we have brought a permanent scheme for the farmers," he said.

Hitting out at the Congress, Modi said, "In the Congress' mathematics, the gimmick of loan waiver comes in every 10 years."