Bantwal : “I congratulate Nirmala Sitaraman for having taken such bold step and Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is supporting her in this regard. May the almighty bless the prime minister, finance minister and the entire cabinet of ministers,” said veteran Congress leader B Janardhan Poojary.

Mr Poojary welcomed and congratulated union finance minister Nirmala Sitaraman and the BJP government for having decided to hold ‘Sala Mela’ (gathering for disbursing loans).

He said that he was popular when he was the finance minister in the Congress government of late Indira Gandhi by holding ‘Sala Mela’ for the first time in the country during 1980. “Nirmala Sitaraman also has taken a bold step like Indira Gandhi,” he added.

Reminiscing about the Sala Melas held by him decades ago, Mr Poojary said, “Indira Gandhi and I had faced criticism when we held Sala Melas. It is a best scheme to wipe the tears of the poor. I support it sincerely. Sitaraman should continue the work ignoring all the criticism. She cannot be thanked enough,” he noted.