In a shocking incident, an indebted farmer on Sunday tried to immolate himself in front Gorakhpur’s Gorakhdham Temple where Uttar Pradesh’s Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath pays his services as the chief priest (Mahant). The farmer, who tried to kill himself bending to the pressure of massive loans, was soon rescued by the locals. The farmer was soon taken to hospital and was then detained by cops. “Nobody is there to listen to my plea. I am under a huge debt and my health is deteriorating. I need help,” a sobbing Rajkumar Bharti said.
Bharti, who reportedly belongs to Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia, was prevented from by the people present there near the temple at the time. Speaking about his demands, the farmer sought a loan waiver from the government which he took for his treatment.
However, it is was not clear if Adityanath took note of the demands made by the person or not. Vowing to work for farmers, PM Narendra Modi had said that the new Uttar Pradesh government would take a decision in its first cabinet meeting on the loan waiver scheme for the farmers of state. However, no such step has been taken by the Yogi Adityanath government till now.
Watch | Gorakhpur: Unable To Meet UP CM, Farmer Tries To Immolate Himself Demanding Loan Waiver
Earlier, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley ruled out farm loan waivers by the Centre but said states can utilise their own resources in this regard. He clarified that the Centre will not adopt a selective approach by helping one state and not the others.
“This issue (loan waiver) has cropped up in several states. The Centre has its policies for agriculture sector under which we provide interest subvention and other support. We will continue to give all that. If a state has its own resources and want to go ahead in that direction, it will have to find its resources. The situation where the Centre will help one state and not the others will not arise,” Jaitley said in the Rajya Sabha.