Mumbai, Sep 3 (UNI) Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Prabha Rau today said the party has demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh waive loans of small farmers up to an amount of Rs 30,000.

Talking to reporters, Ms Rau said the waiving of interest by banks had not benefitted the farmers.

It was unfortunate that the country had to import wheat, she added and urged the PM to take appropriate action on the issue.

Ms Rau and other MPCC office bearers called on Dr Singh during his recent visit to the city.

She admitted that the number of farmers' suiciding was decreasing, however, the efforts should be made to wipe out such incidents completely.

Speaking about Special Economic Zones (SEZs), she said, ''Cultivable land should not be taken for the SEZ and if it is taken then the farmers should be made partners in the same.'' Talking about the recent tug of war between the NCP and the Congress in Mira Bhayander Corporation and the local bodies election of Aurangabad-Jalna, in which Congress had to suffer defeat, Ms Rau said if the NCP wanted to blame the Congress, it was free to do it.

''In Mira Bhayander, the NCP had decided to fight the polls without Congress, while in Aurangabad-Jalna, the Congress candidate could have won the elections, if the NCP voters would have given their second preference votes to the Congress,'' she added.

UNI