new delhi the stage seems set for expansion of the mega loan waiver announced in the budget with congress mp rahul gandhi on thursday demanding two crucial changes to widen the arc of relief as the party prepares for crucial electoral battles aheadthe congress heir apparent has demanded that the ceiling of two hectares to determine the eligibility for the loan relief be done away with and it be linked to productivity instead he said the norm excluded deserving farmers in poorly irrigated areas from the waiver citing vidarbha as a case in pointbesides he also sought replacement of the uniform cutoff date of march 31 2007 for the loans to have been taken by localised cutoff dates worked out to factor in regionwise variations in cropping cycleshe said the bulk of loans were taken after the given cutoff date unfairly penalising deserving farmers of certain regions though rahul stressed that he was making suggestions there were few doubts that these represented the wishes of the high command and were sure to be heeded by finance minister p chidambaram when he replies to the budget debatecoming just after wellchoreographed moves crediting congress chief sonia gandhi with the authorship of the loan waiver rahuls interventions on thursday seemed designed to cast him as propeople in a busy electoral calendar leading to lok sabha polls