Mumbai, Aug 23 (IANS) Amid a spate of farmer suicides in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena (UBT) on Saturday launched a blistering attack on the BJP-led MahaYuti government, accusing it of dragging its feet on the much-awaited crop loan waiver while “shielding corrupt ministers and leaders.”

Thackeray camp in a hard-hitting editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamana alleged that while the debt-ridden farmers continue to end their lives, corrupt ministers are roaming freely.

“The government openly defended a Minister whose video went viral, showing a bag full of cash in his bedroom. All those accused of scams and malpractices enjoy the patronage of the Fadnavis government. But ordinary farmers, who have legitimate expectations of a loan waiver, have been left in despair. That is why farmers like Babasaheb Sarode, a small landholder, were forced to take the extreme step of suicide. His life could have been saved had the government acted on its promise. The Sena (UBT) pointed out that even as the file on the loan waiver gathers dust, the file relating to allegations against former Agriculture Minister Dhananjay Munde has miraculously gone missing,” the editorial stated.

It said this “coincidence” only rubs salt into the wounds of farmers and exposes the government’s “apathy towards their suffering.”

Targeting Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the editorial said, “The Fadnavis government came to power with a brute majority, but this government miserably failed to meet the expectations of the common man. Babasaheb Sarode hanged himself because his hopes for loan waivers were dashed. During the assembly election campaign, they had shown hope for loan waivers to farmers. However, after coming to power, everyone’s language has changed.”

Thackeray camp targeted Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on his recent statement that “loan waiver will be given at the right time”. It also, without directly mentioning Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, said he declared that MahaYuti did not make any promise about crop loan waiver and criticised the Revenue Minister for showing carrots to the farmers by announcing that a survey for loan waiver is underway.

“Why are you pushing poor farmers into the pit of hope and despair? In the last four months, more than 740 farmers like Sarode have committed suicide. Since the Fadnavis government came to power, the farmers in the state have been desperate. However, the present and former ministers of the same department, despite being accused of corruption and malpractices and losing their ministerial posts, are still selling hopes,” alleged the editorial.

Referring to the recent submission by the former Agriculture Secretary about the file about a scam during the tenure of the former Agriculture Minister is lost, the Thackeray camp charged that this was because the government had strong support for the latter. Without directly naming former Agriculture Minister Dhananjay Munde, the editorial said that even though he has lost his ministerial post, he still hopes for his re-induction in the state cabinet.

“Although months have passed since he had to resign from the ministerial post, he is not ready to leave the government bungalow. This is the miracle of that ‘hope’! Another former Agriculture Minister (Manikrao Kokate) played a ‘rummy’ game in the legislature while showing apathy and neglect to the crisis-ridden farmers. However, the government also ‘supported’ him. Instead of sacking him from the cabinet, he was stripped of the agriculture department. He continues to be the minister despite a gross insult to the farmers. This is possible only because of the support he enjoys from the ruling alliance government,” remarked the editorial.

Making a strong pitch for the implementation of crop loan waiver at the earliest, the Thackeray camp rapped the government for its inaction and slammed it for protecting the scam-tainted ministers and ruling alliance leaders.

–IANS

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