Raichur: Calling for treating agriculture as a core sector, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi today opposed a blanket waiver on farm loans.

Interacting with farmers in Gadak district of Karnataka, Gandhi opposed the idea of a blanket loan waiver for farmers, saying it could prove "destructive for the system."

When a delegate at the meeting persisted with the issue, he asked, "What about those poor farmers who have paid their loans on time?"

He called for strengthening micro-finance and credit lending systems as a remedy to farmers problems.

"Agriculture is central to the country's future," Gandhi told the farmers.

"His interactions centered around the need for the country's planning to be made agriculture-centric and to be treated as a core sector," one of the participants in the closed-door interaction at the Krishi Vigyan Kendra told PTI.

All through the speech, Gandhi stressed that rural excellence and indigenous knowledge can only guide the country to a better agrarian situation.

Attacking the previous NDA government for "neglect of the farm sector", Gandhi said, "Earlier, there was a sense that agriculture is a thing of the past. It was no longer respected. Things have changed during the UPA rule."
Source : PTI