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Anand Sharma announced Rs3,884 crore package for weavers in Varanasi on Saturday. Union textiles minister Anand Sharma announced Rs3,884 crore package for weavers in Varanasi on Saturday.

The announcement comes after Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi expressed his unhappiness over the Centre not having kept its word given to the weavers. The Mayawati government has

termed the Centre’s move “political opportunism”. Rahul had recently visited Varanasi, Mirzapur and Bhadohi districts where weavers comprise a sizable section of the electorate. He had

visited their houses and spoken to them at length about their problems. He had then written to the Union textiles minister reminding him of the finance minister’s promise in the annual

budget about a special economic package for weavers. No doubt, Rahul’s move is laced with political expediency as the weavers are predominantly Muslims. Their vote is decisive in several

constituencies of east UP. In his announcement on Saturday, Sharma said loans of up to Rs50,000 were being waived under the package. He also announced that weavers would be issued special

credit cards on which they would be able to take loans of up to Rs2 lakh. He also announced a cut of 10 per cent in the rates of silk thread. About the settlement of power dues, the minister

said only the state government could take a decision in this regard. BSP chief Mayawati has dubbed the move an “electoral stunt”. She said her government had asked the Centre for a package

for weavers soon after she took over as chief minister in 2007 but got no response. In the same vein, SP leader Azam Khan said the Centre’s package was nothing but a ruse to befool the

unsuspecting weavers.