HYDERABAD: The spate of farmers suicides kept Telangana Assembly on the boil for the second day, on Wednesday. While both the opposition and ruling party took a proactive approach on Tuesday, the second day witnessed confrontation with opposition questioning the government apathy and holding a sit-in, inside the Assembly hall. The protesting MLAs squatted in front of the speakers podium even after the house was adjourned at 9 pm. Later they were evicted forcibly from the Assembly and shifted to MLA quarters.
All opposition parties except MIM united to corner the government under the leadership of leader of opposition K Jana Reddy.
Meanwhile, chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao took a philosophical approach, observing that farmers suicides are happening across the country and it cannot be resolved overnight.
He assured that the government is chalking out ways and means to waive off the farm loans at one go. The government wants to mobilise `8,000 crore to waive off the loans as one-time settlement and it is planning to raise the money through borrowings, collection of tax arrears, sale of government lands, Rao explained.
Speaking about the initiatives, Rao said they have taken steps to develop the state as the ‘seed bowl of the world. Coming to farm loan waiver, KCR revealed that the government has released `8,300 crore till date. “We need `8,000 crore to waive off the loans in a single go,” he said. Rao revealed that the government is trying to collect commercial taxes arrears. “The arrears amount to `4,500 crore. We could collect `300 crore and we are making efforts to collect the remaining `4,200 crore,” he explained.