Fadnavis govt apathetic towards farmers' woes, claims Pawar; warns of intensifying stir

NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar on Monday accused Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of being negligent towards the plight of farmers and warned the Opposition will intensify its protest to draw the government's attention towards the ''agrarian crisis''.

Pawar led an 'Akrosh Morcha' organised by his party in Nashik to highlight the hardship of farmers. Accompanied by several NCP (SP) leaders and workers, Pawar participated in the protest in an open jeep.

The party demanded that the government declare a wet drought and complete loan waiver for farmers.

NCP (SP) working president and Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule said if the government doesn't announce loan waiver in a month, the party will not let ministers move around in the state.

Addressing a rally here, Pawar said, ''We have seen posters all over the media of Devabhau (Devendra Fadnavis) folding hands before Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He should follow the path of the legendary warrior king who ensured farmers didn't have trouble.'' The former state chief minister warned that the morcha organised by his party on Monday was just a beginning.

''Devabhau...look around and see what's happening. In Nepal, people overthrew a government which failed to meet their aspirations,'' he pointed out.

The former Union minister alleged the Maharashtra government was indifferent to the plight of farmers.

Farmers are not getting adequate price for their crops and there is a ban on exports, he claimed, without elaborating.

''Debt is the biggest malaise that farmers face, and there should be a solution to this problem,'' Pawar said.

''If the government continues to turn a blind eye to the agrarian crisis, the (farmer) suicides, which are in thousands, may go to lakhs, and we can't be mute spectators,'' he said.

During the protest, the NCP (SP) leaders also sought an appropriate minimum support price (MSP) for onion, grapes and other crops.

''Maharashtra has given Rs 2 lakh crore to the national treasury in the form of GST in the last eight years. Why can't the government give Rs 35,000 crore for loan waiver?'' NCP (SP) general secretary Rohit Pawar asked.

Sule said the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government under Dr Manmohan Singh, in which Sharad Pawar was union agriculture minister, gave Rs 70,000 crore loan waiver to farmers.

''The government gave funds to women (Ladki Bahin Yojana) and in the first phase of review removed names of 25 lakh women. We will not tolerate this. We will launch a public movement against this,'' she added.

Sule also said alleged the names of 65,000 farmers had been removed from the list of Nashik District Central Co-operative (NDCC) Bank. while new names were added.

The NCP (SP) will seek an inquiry into this matter, she added.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)