Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee President Harshavardhan Sapkal on Wednesday hit out at the state government over a range of issuing including farmers loan waiver and financial aid for women.
“The saffron grand alliance had promised loan waivers for farmers and an increase in financial aid for women from ₹1,500 to ₹2,100. However, they have now changed their stance, issuing an order to repay loans before March 31. This sudden reversal suggests that the leaders of the saffron grand alliance are suffering from a 'Ghajini' syndrome,” he said while speaking at a press conference at Tilak Bhavan in Mumbai.
Sapkal said the farmers must receive loan waivers before the sowing season. “If the so-called 'Triple Engine' government has credibility, it should secure a special package from the central government”.
The Congress leader remarked that the budget session was wrapped up without making any significant decisions. “Lofty speeches were delivered, but they seem to have forgotten their own manifesto. The chief minister and the deputy chief minister acted like stage performers, but ultimately, their generosity turned out to be hollow. Instead of addressing fundamental public issues, they dug up Aurangzeb’s grave,” he said.
Sapkal alleged that the BJP-led government had completely ignored crucial matters such as unemployment, farmer loan waivers, and fair pricing for agricultural produce. The government has deliberately sidestepped these pressing issues, he added.
Regarding the Khadakpurna Left Canal water issue, Sapkal said that when Devendra Fadnavis was the chief minister, he had approved a solution as a birthday gift for the local MLA. “However, now he claims that the same solution is unfeasible. Due to the delay in resolving this issue, young farmer Kailas Nagare committed suicide. The people are now questioning, ‘what happened to your promise?’”, said the Congress leader.
On the Waqf Reform Bill, Sapkal stated that special land rights had already been established during the drafting of the Constitution. “Land has been allotted to temples, places of worship, and inam (gifted) lands have been granted. In Maharashtra, even the descendants of Chhatrapatis have been given special land rights. In a country with a large landless population, Acharya Vinoba Bhave led the Bhoodan movement, collecting thousands of acres of land and distributing it to the landless. Pandit Nehru introduced tenancy laws under the principle of ‘land to the tiller’, followed by the Ceiling Act. Indira Gandhi took decisive steps to distribute land ownership, and under the UPA government, tribal communities were granted rights over forest lands,” he explained.
Sapkal alleged that the BJP government is now viewing the Waqf Bill through a religious lens and seems to be planning to take over this land to hand it over to industrialists and builders. “They have already handed over Dharavi’s land to Adani, and under the pretext of the Shakti Peeth Corridor, attempts are being made to allocate Konkan land to Adani and Ambani. This appears to be a similar ploy,” he further said.