Sangli/Osmanabad: The government has got a reminder on Rahul Gandhi's "suggestion' to expand the scope of the Rs 60,000 crore farm waiver, with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi declaring that she has told PM Manmohan Singh and finance minister P Chidambaram to relax the twohectare eligibility criterion for relief for the benefit of farmers in un-irrigated regions. The Congress chief 's emphasis on the need to widen the arc of waiver at massive rallies in Maharashtra, which has seen a spate of suicides by debt-ridden farmers, should quell any doubt about the implementation of Rahul's "suggestions' when the Finance Bill is passed. Addressing a rally after the ground breaking ceremony of the Babasaheb Ambedkar social hall at Sangli, Sonia said: "I will suggest to UPA government to initiate steps so that those farmers from Vidarbha and Marathwada who are left out of the relief package could benefit.' There is an overwhelming demand to relax the 2-hectare cap for farmers in Marathwada and Vidarbha regions, and Sonia sought to tap into it also when she addressed a mammoth crowd of farmers at Naikwadinagar ground in Osmanabad. She said: "I am aware of the fact that a large section of farmers from these regions could not avail the benefit of the historic decision.' Referring to the demand raised by Rahul in Parliament and repeated by chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh at the Osmanabad rally, the Congress chief revealed that she had already directed the government to revise the threshhold for the benefit of more farmers. "I have urged the Prime Minister and the finance minister to consider the climatic conditions of these two regions and to extend the 2- hectare ceiling for the waiver. I am sure they will soon take steps in that direction.' Although Chidambaram, while replying to the debate on Budget, had refrained from specifically commenting on Rahul's advice, there were indications that the "suggestions' of the Amethi MP would find their way into the Finance Bill. The hints to the change were looking unambiguous after Sonia's tour of Maharashtra. The choice of Maharashtra for Sonia to make the pro-farmer intervention causes no surprise. YSR announces Rs 1,690-cr writeoff Taking a cue from the UPA government at the Centre, the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh on Monday proposed to write off outstanding loans amounting to Rs 1,690.60 crore taken by nearly 43.85 lakh people belonging to weaker sections, including SCs, STs, BCs, minorities, women and physically challenged. TNN Raje follows up with relief for 25 lakh farmers: In an apparent bid to woo farmers, the BJP government in Rajasthan on Monday announced a cash relief package for about 25 lakh poor farmers in the state. PTI