Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], May 21 (ANI): Former Haryana Chief Minister and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda criticised the Haryana government on Tuesday over a series of issues, including the hike in farm loan interest rates, alleged spying for Pakistan, and governance decisions.

Hooda accused the Haryana government of betraying farmers by raising crop loan interest rates from zero percent to seven percent. He claimed that during the Congress-led UPA government, interest on agricultural loans had been drastically reduced.

Speaking to ANI, Hooda said, 'It belonged to the farmer or cooperative, it was 11 to twelve percent in the nationalized bank, then the UPA government reduced it to seven percent. And when I was appointed chairman, it was implemented in the whole country that any bank, whether nationalized or cooperative, cannot charge more than 4 percent interest. Crop loans will be given, which was implemented across the country.'

He further claimed, 'We had reduced the crop loan to zero percent in the Cooperative Bank in Haryana. A letter has just come with zero per cent for the farmer who will give it back on time. I have seen that Hisar Cooperative Bank has charged seven percent interest on these packs. Interest is imposed from zero percent to seven percent. This clarification should be done. The government cannot do this without it.'

Hooda criticised the BJP-led government for increasing the financial burden on farmers, adding that rising costs and lack of support were hurting the agricultural community.

'Farmers are feeling unhappy. Their income is decreasing. Today, the cost of farming has more than doubled compared to our time. There was no GST on fertilizer, no tax on pesticides, and diesel was the cheapest. Now they have doubled the VAT on diesel. GST was imposed on fertilizer and pesticide drugs. If I say twenty-eight percent, the cost has increased a lot. According to the income, farmers have decreased. The MSP has not increased and farmers do not even get the MSP they declare,' he added.

On the issue of espionage, where Haryana Police arrested an accused named Tariff for allegedly spying for Pakistan, Hooda demanded a deep investigation, adding 'It is a very serious matter. It should be investigated thoroughly. Those who are guilty should be severely punished. The innocent should not be trapped. Until a deep investigation is done, until we get to the bottom of this matter, we will not know who was betraying our country.'

Hooda also reacted to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's tweet, supporting the demand for clarity from the government on critical national matters.

Backing Rahul Gandhi's recent statement, Hooda called for national accountability and demanded that the government present facts to the people.

Hooda said, 'There was a demand from our side, Rahul also said. The people of India want to know. When the President of the United States announced the ceasefire first, the President of the United States announced many such cases. People of the country want to know what the real reality is. Sometimes they ask if the pilot comes safe, where did the ship go, brother? Then an all-party meeting should be called to discuss all these things and a special Parliament meeting should be called so that the country is right in front.'

Hooda also confirmed that the appointment of one Chief Information Commissioner and five Information Commissioners had been finalised during the day's meeting, with two positions still vacant. These appointments were expected to be formalised by the governor in the upcoming session. (ANI)