File photo

BENGALURU: Under pressure from BJP to immediately declare a loan waiver for farmers , CM HD Kumaraswamy emphatically said on Sunday, “I am not obligated to the 6.5 crore people of Karnataka , but I'm obligated to Congress .”

The CM also sought a week’s time to convince his alliance partner, Congress, to announce a waiver of farm loans, as promised by JD(S) in its manifesto, or else he would quit. JD(S) had promised to waive all farm loans taken from cooperative, private and commercial banks, within 24 hours of coming to office.

“There is no question of going back on the farm loan waiver. I need a week’s time to understand the financial situation before taking such a call. This can happen only after cabinet expansion. I will do it in a week or quit the CM’s post,” he told reporters, while appealing to farmers not to take the extreme step of committing suicide.

The CM’s response comes in the wake of BJP’s call for a statewide bandh on Monday, as HDK failed to announce the loan waiver within 24 hours of coming to office. He said he had already spoken to a few Congress members on the loan waiver as he had to take them into confidence. He also took a dig at opposition leader in the assembly B S Yeddyurappa, saying he should stop provoking farmers to commit suicide.

“What if farmers commit suicide, instigated by his statements? What will happen to the orphaned children of such farmers? Who will be responsible for them?” Meanwhile, Kumaraswamy’s visit to New Delhi has been rescheduled, as his appointment with PM Narendra Modi is at 5.30pm Monday, instead of 11.30am.

Read this story in Marathi



In Video: Obliged to Congress, didn’t get mandate from people: Kumaraswamy