Waive Loans Or I Will Resign: Rao

Handlooms And Textiles Minister P Shankar Rao on Monday stated that he would resign from the Cabinet by the end of April if Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy does not concede to the Minister's demand of a loan waiver for poor weavers.

Claiming that this would be his last interaction with the media for the next 2 months, Dr. Rao said that the Opposition was unduly accusing him of neglecting his responsibilities.

The Minister said that he was being accused despite the fact that he has been working for the upliftment of weavers.

"I have tried to secure the loan waiver, and if the Chief Minister does not nod to my demand by the end of this month, I will resign from his Ministry," Shankar Rao stated.

He made it clear that he had tried to secure work orders for the weavers' benefit in the past.

"The order from the Rajiv Vidya Mission worth Rs. 105 crores, in the recent past, was part of my scheme of providing poor weavers work for 365 days," the Minister added.

Dr. Rao said that he had convened an all-party meeting on weavers' issues, which the leaders of BJP, TDP, CPI and CPM had attended. The loan waiver issue had topped the discussion during the meeting which was held at the Secretariat on Monday, he disclosed.

Following the meeting, Shankar Rao informed media persons that he would take up the issue with Kiran Kumar Reddy, and apprised him of the need to sanction the loan waivers at the earliest.

"The Opposition has criticised me for not taking any action in this regard," pointed out Shankar Rao, indignantly. (INN)