Mumbai, July 15 (IANS) After the announcement of the ‘Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Farmers Crop Loan Waiver Scheme’, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday took a sharp dig at the Opposition, saying that “while some doubted the implementation of the waiver, this (MahaYuti) is a government led by the farmers’ own “Devabhau” (Brother Deva)”.

He was speaking at the event organised by the BJP Kisan Morcha to felicitate him.

Hitting back at critics who accused the state government of political calculation, Chief Minister Fadnavis remarked, “If we were thinking purely politically, we could have delayed the loan waiver until January 2029, since the next big elections are far off. But decisions regarding farmer welfare are not tied to politics. Some people expected that the government would fail to deliver, allowing them to stage protests and keep their ‘shops of publicity’ running. They forgot that this is a MahaYuti government — a Devabhau’s government dedicated to the farmers.”

He highlighted that the decision to waive loans was driven purely by farmer welfare rather than upcoming elections.

He recalled that the debt waiver was a key promise in their previous election manifesto, which subsequently led the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the MahaYuti alliance to sweeping victories across Zilla Parishads, Municipal Corporations, and Municipal Councils.

Explaining the technicalities of the scheme, the Chief Minister said that the state government approved a waiver for loans up to Rs 2 lakh, alongside an incentive of Rs 50,000 for farmers who have been regular with their repayments.

“Initially, an exclusion criteria was placed, saying that beneficiaries of the 2019 debt waiver would not qualify for this round.”

Chief Minister Fadnavis noted that such exclusions are standard practice — citing historical precedents from 2008, 2009, 2017, and 2019 — to maintain financial discipline and prevent farmers from falling into default traps in anticipation of waivers.

However, upon reviewing the data, the Chief Minister found that this clause would leave out 12 lakh farmers.

“I asked the officials what would happen if the government provided up to Rs 50,000, and the farmers cleared the rest. It turned out that out of the 12 lakh excluded farmers, nearly 600,000 could benefit by paying just Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 out of their own pockets. Therefore, going completely beyond the committee’s official report, we decided that the state government would provide up to Rs 50,000 to support them,” Chief Minister Fadnavis said.

He shared that he usually distances himself from public honours.

“I accept very few felicitations in my life. However, when the Kisan Morcha approached me, I saw it as a valuable opportunity to connect directly with the farmers of Maharashtra and convey two important points to them,” Chief Minister Fadnavis said.

The Chief Minister noted that he initially suggested holding the event within their local divisions, but the Morcha insisted on the capital city of Mumbai.

He emphasised that he accepted the honour on behalf of the entire state Cabinet, explicitly mentioning both Deputy Chief Ministers, Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar.

–IANS

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