Political decisions inevitable: Haryana CM Khattar on farm loan waiver

Speaking to Hindustan Times on the Congress governments waiving farm loans shortly after coming to power in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan and the BJP governments in Assam and Gujarat forced to follow suit, Khattar said: "We will take a political decision whenever it is required. The issue is farmer welfare, and as I said, our purpose is to make people feel that the government is there to take care of them.

"When this sense will exist, the blackmailing will stop. We will then be under no compulsion to take decisions depending on their political cost."

"This demand has been there for a long time. Once, the Centre also announced a Rs 60,000-crore waiver for farmers," he said. "But, financial management is needed. We need to focus on that. We need to see how a farmer utilises the loan he takes. This is a solution in the long run."

Speaking on the one-nation-one-election idea, the 64-year-old leader said: "All parties will have to agree for that. The Constitution will have to be amended. This is not possible in 2019. We will attempt it in 2024. We have not said anything on holding simultaneous election. Still, if the Centre or the Election Commission say otherwise, we are ready."

The Haryana CM said the recent Congress wins in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh do not worry him too much.

"It is wrong to say we suffered a big setback in MP and it is leading to several questions. Same is the case with Rajasthan, where the vote share difference was just 0.5 percentage point. People were predicting 30-35 seats for us in Rajasthan and we got 73. A large number of independents and others won. The Congress did not win that election by a big margin,” he said.