Beed, Nov 5 (IANS) Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday announced that the Mahayuti government’s Rs 31,628 crore package for rain and flood-hit farmers was not acceptable and demanded immediate implementation of farm loan waiver for farmers in Maharashtra instead of in June next year.

Uddhav Thackeray slammed Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for his announcement that the farm loan waiver will be done next year before June and took a dig at him saying that he was sitting with the almanac “searching for Rahu and Ketu.”

Uddhav Thackeray, who launched his four day visit to natural disaster-hit Marathwada after interacting with farmers in Pali village, criticised Chief Minister Fadnavis for his statement that banks will benefit and not the farmers if the government gives farm loan waiver.

“Now the chief minister has set a deadline of June next year. If they are going to waive off loans in June, should the farmers pay the installments of the current loans or not? If there is going to be a loan waiver, why should they pay the installments? Will all the loans be waived off in June?” Uddhav Thackeray asked.

Uddhav Thackeray claimed that Chief Minister Fadnavis’ announcement of providing loan waiver before June next year was yet another promise in the air.

He told the farmers, “Tell them, ‘first waive off the loans and then we will vote for you’. Farmers are food providers and they will vote only if the government waives off the loans.”

“I have a video of Devendra Fadnavis saying that after the government comes to power, the farmers will be made debt free. What happened to that promise?” he asked.

The leader stated that he “may lack intelligence or he may not be a farmer but after taking over as the state chief minister he immediately wrote off farm loans of up to Rs 2 lakh each for the growers.”

Thackeray slammed Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar for his statement that “we had promised loan waiver to the people because we wanted to get elected.”

Thackeray also lashed out at the Maharashtra government over the implementation of the ‘Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana’ by putting certain conditions with regard to the monthly financial aid. “Is everyone really getting the benefit under the Ladki Bahin Yojana? Before the Assembly elections, all the women in the family were getting the aid, now only two women in the family are getting the benefit. This means that the BJP is creating fights in households.

“RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is suggesting that women give birth to as many children as possible. Then if there are two sisters in a family, a mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law, then who will get the financial aid under the Ladki Bahin Yojana? Those who are getting the benefit are the Ladki (beloved) and those who are not getting the benefit are not beloved. The government should treat everyone equally, it is the government’s job,” Thackeray remarked.

–IANS

sj/rad