Bathinda, May 29: Members of the BKU Ekta Ugrahan staged a dharna outside the local branch of Agriculture Development Bank on Monday.
Annoyed over the registration of cheque bounce cases against farmers to recover loan, BKU senior vice-president Jhanda Singh Jethuke said on the one hand, the state government was boasting of extending farm debt waiver benefits to farmers, on the other it had directed banks to recover money from them.
He alleged that the farmers, who were unable to repay their debt, were being put behind bars in cheque bounce cases.
“They are reeling under financial crisis and many have taken the extreme step. But the state government continues to pursue anti-farmer policies.
The banks are depositing blank cheques taken from the farmers and the latter are being booked in cheque bounce cases and sent to jail,” Jethuke said.
BKU leader Shangara Singh Mann said the state government should stop “forced debt recovery” and release the arrested farmers.
Source Tribune India
