The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee has strongly condemned the objections raised by RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan over the proposed waiver of farm loans by the Telangana government.
Speaking to media persons at Gandhi Bhavan here, TPCC spokesperson Mallu Ravi said that the RBI Governor should not interfere with the policy decisions of State governments.
"In a democracy, the governments design their agendas based on their manifestos. Further, the State Cabinets are empowered to take policy decisions. Officials and other agencies including the RBI have no rights to interfere with the Cabinet decisions. At the most, the officials can send their remarks on certain policies. However, the officials and other institutions should not be authorised to express their opposition to the government's decisions publicly," he said.
Ravi alleged that the RBI Governor was not aware of the ground realities. The statement claiming there were no major crop damages in areas of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana that merited a debt waiver was given in ignorance, he said. He said 3-4 farmers were committing suicide every day in Telangana. Therefore, before making such statements, the RBI Governor should visit the areas to get first hand information, he fumed.
The TPCC spokesperson suspected that the RBI Governor issued the statement as a part of conspiracy hatched by the Central Government. He asked Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to clarify on the issue.
Ravi also advised Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to review the decision to hold Independence Day celebrations at the Golconda Fort. He said that the military authorities have reportedly erected signboards warning action against trespassers near the Golconda Fort after the Chief Minister's visit. He said that the State government apparently did not inform the military authorities about its decision. (INN)