Loan waiver cannot be termed freebie: Singh Deo

Citing that the loan waiver promise in the election manifesto was a factor in the landslide victory in assembly elections in 2018, Chhattisgarh Minister T.S. Singh Deo on Sunday said it should be termed as a freebie.

He was speaking at the concluding day of a two-day-long fifth national conclave of the All India Professionals Congress (AIPC) here on Sunday.

The AIPC, a wing of the Congress, was established as a taxpayers political group in 2017.

Singh Deo said: “When we waive the loan of an indebted farmer, we are bringing happiness to his entire family.”

This increases his purchasing power, boosting the entire economy. The state performed well even in the worst pandemic condition, he said.

Speaking on the occasion, policy researcher Yamini Aiyar said: “Covid has taught our country that our rural economy is the sponge which can and which does absorb external pressures. We need to take our rural economy much more seriously than we already do.”

AIPC National President and MP Shashi Tharoor, Chhattisgarh Ministers Mohammad Akbar and Kawasi Lakhma and MP Captain Uttam Reddy were the chief speakers on Sunday.