Parade Ground of Chandigarh. According to the report in “The Tribune”, the local paper, nearly fifty thousand farmers were present. It was announced that since all these farm loans were illegal, farmers would not be repaying them. It was announced that minimum fifty thousand farmers would file the insolvency petitions in Chandigarh High Court. Renowned advocate Ram Jethmalani also addressed that meeting. He said that the loan recovery legally stops from the day on which you file such insolvency petition. No fresh interest is added on that loan till the court delivered its judgment. Industry regularly took advantage of that provision and farmers too should do likewise. Loss to the farmers every year because of natural calamity was to the tune of at least rupees ten thousand crores. If industry suffered a similar loss, then the insurance company or the government covered most of that loss. The same should happen in case of farmers as well. In every agreement there was a provision that if due to natural calamity or an act of God any one side was unable to honour that agreement, that side was pardoned. The same facility should be extended to the farmers. According to a report in the Indian Express of 23 August 1989, Ram Jethmalani and Joshi had spoken on the same day before the Punjab and Haryana Bar Association. There, Advocate Jethmalani had read out a list of different kinds of protection a farmer who had declared insolvency was entitled to get. He said, ‘Government cannot attach such farmer’s farm, farm equipment or his animals. Any act by the government which would obstruct his farming would be illegal. Twenty thousand farmers from Maharashtra have submitted a memorandum to declare such insolvency and if it is not accepted by the government then all those farmers would go to Court. I am personally going to fight such cases without charging any fee Farmers on the National Agenda
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