Maharashtra Opposition Demands Farm Loan Waiver, Higher MSP for Cotton, Soyabean

Mumbai: The winter session of the Maharashtra Legislature began on a stormy note in Nagpur on Thursday as opposition parties protested at the Vidhan Bhavan demanding farm loan waiver and compensation for farmers, who have suffered losses due to unseasonal rains.

As soon as the session began, opposition parties MLAs staged a protest against the state government over farmers’ issues at the premises of Vidhan Bhavan. Wearing garlands made up of orange and cotton, the MLAs of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which comprises the Shiv Sena (UBT), Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP and Congress, raised slogans against the government.

Farmers in Marathwada, Vidarbha, Konkan and north Maharashtra regions of the state have suffered huge losses due to unseasonal rains and hailstorm in recent days. The opposition MLAs said that the state farmers are in crisis and need urgent assistance from the government. However, instead of providing timely help, the government has been carrying out only ‘panchnamas’ (crop assessment reports), they alleged.

They demanded immediate relief to farmers in terms of loan waiver, “Rs1,000 bonus on paddy crop, Rs 14,000 and Rs 18,000 MSP” for cotton and soybean, respectively.

Later raising the issue in the Vidhan Sabha, Leader of Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar of the Congress demanded a blanket loan waiver for farmers reeling under crop losses. “Maharashtra has become a hub of suicides because the state government has no time for farmers. The state government should announce a flat loan waiver for farmers who have lost their crops in unseasonal showers. But the state government is spending more on its own events than helping farmers,” he said.

Referring to a report of the National Crime Records Bureau released recently, Wadettiwar said that Maharashtra has become a hub of suicides because the state government has no time for farmers.

Responding to the opposition’s criticism, Deputy CM Fadnavis said the government has taken several measures to help farmers. “We have disbursed Rs 10,000 crore to farmers in the past and also expanded the criteria for giving assistance up to three hectares as against earlier threshold of two hectares,” he added.