Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has demanded a loan waiver for farmers of Maharashtra after he toured the flood-affected region of Marathwada on Thursday.
More than 40 village panchayats in Hingoli district have passed resolutions demanding a loan waiver for farmers on Friday. Senior NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil also has demanded a loan waiver and an aid of Rs 50,000 per acre to farmers.
Patil, who is currently touring flood-hit Beed district, said that this is the right time to declare a loan waiver to farmers. "We have been demanding a loan waiver for some time now. The government has been saying that it will announce it at an appropriate time. This is the right time to give a loan waiver to farmers," said Patil. He added that the government had money to spend on events but is delaying the waiver.
He also pointed out that as the BJP is in power at both the Centre and in the state, the state should get Rs 20,000 crore from the PM Care Fund to help farmers. He also stressed that the one-rupee crop insurance scheme brought by the government has totally flopped as farmers are not getting any help.
Devendra Fadnavis-led government has promised all possible help to farmers but on the other hand, his deputy Ajit Pawar, who holds the finance portfolio, has bluntly said that "one can pretend to have anything but one cannot pretend to have money". Opposition leaders have criticised Ajit Pawar for this statement and said that this is an indication that the state government is in no mood to give a loan waiver.
Devastating floods have affected nearly 40 per cent of farmland in Maharashtra and more than 3 million farmers have been affected in the state.