Jalandhar: Former Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar, speaking to reporters in Jalandhar on Saturday, accused the Bhagwant Mann government of burdening farmers through changes to cooperative-bank loan rules and of making borrowing harder. The press interaction was reported on October 31 by both Daily Kiran and ReportWire; every charge below is Jakhar's allegation.

According to Jakhar, the biggest change is the share deposit: a farmer earlier deposited Rs 3,300 for a loan of up to Rs 1 lakh and Rs 5,000 for Rs 2 lakh; the amounts have now been raised to Rs 6,000 and Rs 9,000 respectively and must be paid before the loan is processed. He said the deposit was previously held by the cooperative society and could be reclaimed easily when an account was closed, whereas it will now be kept with the bank, making retrieval harder — his account of the change.

He further alleged that farmers were not earlier required to mortgage land for cooperative loans but now must do so, and that the four per cent interest discount available to farmers holding Kisan Credit Cards from other banks has been ended. Jakhar said the government had failed to keep sufficient funds in the banks, leaving them unable to lend, and held the Chief Minister responsible because the Cooperation Department is under his charge — again, his allegation.

The promise at issue: Jakhar recalled that during farmer unions' protests in Chandigarh, the Agriculture Minister had assured them in writing on September 7 that a one-time settlement scheme for cooperative-bank farm loans would be brought in the Assembly — but the Assembly session held since has ended without any such scheme. He also said that although the Chief Minister announced in June that the Kisan Credit Card limit would be increased, cooperative banks had, in his telling, neither opened a single new farmer account nor raised loan limits. Jakhar claimed that 11 district land mortgage banks have been closed for five months, with farmers and staff protesting outside them.

Timing: ReportWire recorded Jakhar saying the situation is especially distressing because farmers need cash now for wheat sowing, seeds, fertilisers and diesel. Turning to the Centre, he cited the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme, saying Rs 18,500 crore had been released as a fresh instalment to 9.34 crore farmers and Rs 4.6 lakh crore transferred in total — figures he cited.

The reports read carried no response from the Punjab government or the Cooperation Department.

What happens next: whether the government answers these charges, and whether a one-time settlement scheme appears in the next Assembly session.