Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Oct 9: Interestingly, tussle has broken out between two factions of Congress party in the state on the eve of national vice president of the party, Rahul Gandhi's visit to the state. Rahul would be visiting Karnataka to share the grief of families shaken by farmer suicides and counsel them against taking extreme steps.

The two factions are divided over the demand to announce waiver of farm loans and package for farmers who are facing a crisis. One of these factions has found fault with the chief minister (CM) for hurriedly announcing interest waiver on agricultural loans, without waiting for the visit of the party vice president. Those loyal to this faction feel that the announcement would have gained in importance and turned beneficial for the party, if it was made in the presence of Rahul Gandhi during his visit. Sources said that this faction is trying to prevail on the party high command to convince the state government to make some sort of important announcement for the benefit of farmers during Rahul's visit.

The faction owing allegiance to Siddaramaiah has stood its ground, by countering that the state is not in a position to waive loans amounting to nearly Rs 15,000 crore, as it would wreak havoc with the state's finances. There is also a feeling that the waiver of loans availed from cooperative institutions alone will not benefit the farmers fully, as most of the farmers who ended their lives recently had taken loans from nationalized banks. So, they point out that it would be better if the central government announces a scheme of waiver of loans raised from nationalized banks.

In view of this piquant situation, it is said that the CM has prepared a detailed report about steps taken by the government to mitigate the hardships of farmers, which would be presented to the party vice president during his visit on Friday. This would be an effort aimed at appealing to the party high command against pressurizing the state to make any fresh announcement during his visit.

The other faction is of the opinion that making some announcement in the form of package for farmers during Rahul's visit will improve the image of the party as well as its vice president. It would be interesting to watch which of these factions would be able to prevail on Rahul Gandhi.