Saturday, August 20 2005 19:52 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bangalore: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National General Secretary Ananth kumar today (Aug 20, 2005) accused the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government of 'undoing the good deeds' for farmers done during the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) rule and demanded a separate ministry for 'farmers' affairs" and agriculture to be brought under the 'concurrent list' from the state list.

Inaugurating a two-day conference of farmers from south India organized by the BJP Karnataka Kissan Morcha, he said the UPA Government had put the inter-river linking project envisaged by the Vajpayee Government in cold storage and 'one does not know what happened to the Kisan Credit Cards' launched by the NDA.

He said 2848 bank branches in rural areas had been wound up in the last 14 months after the UPA Government came to power.

He also demanded that a separate budget for farmers should be presented just as the Railway budget and general budget were presented.

Ananthkumar said the rate of interest on loans borrowed by farmers should be reduced to 6 per cent. The issues of rural credit, remunerative price, crop insurance and crop loss due to floods and drought should be addressed.

BJP Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu who was scheduled to inaugurate the event could not make it to the function due to indisposition, the party sources said.

Opposition leader in the assembly B S Yediyurappa, who was at the center of a controversy over his botched attempts to form a government with Janata Dal Secular (JDS), Congress' coalition partner, with the support of a section of BJP was conspicuous by his absence.

Party sources however said he was in Belgaum regarding preparations for a party programme on August 22.