New Delhi: The Congress said on Tuesday that the Rs 36,359 crore farm loan waiver announced by the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh will not free farmers from debt or provide them adequate relief. Congress spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala said that the farm loan waiver was a step in the right direction but inadequate.

Noting 2.15 crore of the state's 2.33 crore farmers were either marginal or small and 64.14 lakh farmers had pending loans - either crop or term loans - of Rs 86,241 crore from commercial banks and Rs 6,000 crore from cooperative banks, he said that the Yogi Adiyanath government had announced loan waiver of up to one lakh on crop loan for 86 lakh farmers of the state.