The minister's views could be some cause for worry as he represents Nagpur, the political centre of the Vidarbha region which has been reeling from suicides by farmers. The criticism that farmers who need help might be outside the waiver also dovetails with the argument that UPA's largesse will help well-off agriculturalists in areas like western Maharashtra.

Well-known agro-economist M S Swaminathan agreed that it was difficult to compare farmers from green revolution states with those in impoverished dust bowls. "Comparing farmers owning two hectares in Punjab with those with holdings of similar size in Rajasthan or Vidarbha is unfair. The size of holdings in distressed areas should be much bigger," he said. Swaminathan said farmers in irrigated areas who used advanced methods had access to credit much in excess to what farmers in distressed areas were able to garner.

Budget can't be challenged in court: Supreme Court
Even before the applause for a Budget -- that had something for everyone -- has died down, a PIL filed before the Supreme Court questioned finance minister P Chidambaram's proposal for writing off farmers' loans totalling to Rs 60,000 crore. On Monday, a Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice R V Raveendran firmly told the petitioner that Budget proposals could not be questioned before a court of law. It also refused petitioner M L Sharma's request for early listing of the PIL before a Bench. "The matter is under consideration of Parliament. We do not want to adjudicate a matter which is pending consideration before Parliament. Courts are not the forum for challenging Budget. You may go to other appropriate forum," the Bench said.