PM Manmohan Singh on Wednesday told the Rajya Sabha that if there had been any misappropriation in the Farm loan waiver scheme.
After the Comptroller and Auditor General tabled its report on the loan waiver, the opposition claimed that there had been misappropriation in the scheme and have asked for an immediate discussion on the issue.
The Prime Minister said the Public Accounts Committee would go into the CAG report.He asserted that Government was willing to carry out a probe if the PAC found any truth in the CAG report.
Following Prime Minister’s statement the upper house was adjourned for ten minutes.Earlier, as soon as the Lok Sabha met for the day, the opposition members started shouting slogans and created pandemonium and the house was adjourned till 12 noon.
The Prime Ministers’ assurance came in the Rajya Sabha as BJP created uproar over the alleged “siphoning off” of farmers’ money and a “scam” in the scheme in the wake of the CAG report.
“The reference is to the CAG report on loan waiver scheme. This is a matter which should be entrusted to the Public Accounts Committee as per normal practice.”
His statement came after BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad raised the issue during Zero Hour, alleging scam in the scheme and his colleagues attacked the government over it.
Earlier, Prasad said that the CAG report points out that 34 lakh people who should not have got the loan waiver benefit actually got it while 24 lakh farmers who deserved it, could not get it.
As BJP members rushed into the Well shouting slogans that the “anti-farmer government” would not be allowed to run, Kurien said it was “unfair” that they are obstructing the functioning of the House after expressing what they wanted to say.
“You had your say and now you are preventing others. The Prime Minister has responded, what more do you want? I will not adjourn the House,” he said as BJP members continued to shout slogans.
After the end of Question Hour, Kurien called Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal to lay a statement correcting minor errors in the railway budget document after other papers were laid on the table.
However, as Bansal was not present in the House, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla said he would be in the House within 15 minutes.