Active Stocks
Tue Mar 19 2024 15:58:41
  1. Tata Consultancy Services share price
  2. 3,977.55 -4.03%
  1. Tata Steel share price
  2. 148.65 -0.64%
  1. Bharti Airtel share price
  2. 1,227.85 0.23%
  1. Power Grid Corporation Of India share price
  2. 258.95 -2.28%
  1. ITC share price
  2. 409.50 -1.89%
Business News/ Politics / Policy/  Farm loan waiver: BJP nervous as Maharashtra opposition set to launch Sangharsh Yatra
BackBack

Farm loan waiver: BJP nervous as Maharashtra opposition set to launch Sangharsh Yatra

The opposition's Sangharsh Yatra demanding farm loan waivers for Maharashtra farmers will start Wednesday at Chandrapur in Vidarbha and end at Panvel

The BJP government in Maharashtra, led by CM Devendra Fradnavis claims it is committed to making farmers debt-free, but has refused farm loan waivers. Photo: MintPremium
The BJP government in Maharashtra, led by CM Devendra Fradnavis claims it is committed to making farmers debt-free, but has refused farm loan waivers. Photo: Mint

Mumbai: Opposition parties are set to march through some of the most stricken regions of Maharashta beginning Wednesday in a bid to persuade the Devendra Fadnavis government to waive off the loans of indebted farmers.

All opposition parties will participate in the Sangharsh Yatra. Led by the main opposition parties Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the march will start at Chandrapur, the home town of Maharashtra’s finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar in Vidarbha, and end at Panvel near Mumbai on 4 April.

Vidarbha and Marathwada regions are the epicentre of the agrarian crisis in Maharashtra.

ALSO READ: Farm loan waiver is no solution for Indian agriculture

The marchers will pass through 16 districts spread over Vidarbha, Marathwada, south central Maharashtra and western Maharashtra. Along the route, the opposition parties will meet farmers and “point out to them the double standards (on farm loan waiver) being practised by the Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra", said leader of the opposition in the legislative assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil of the Congress party.

The BJP government, led by chief minister Fradnavis claims it is committed to making farmers debt-free, but has refused to waive off their loans even as opposition protests forced a series of adjournments during the current budget session. On 22 March, the assembly speaker suspended 19 opposition legislators for nine months but three days later the government said it was open to revoking the suspension on 29 March.

Vikhe Patil told a press conference on Monday that other opposition parties like Peasants and Workers Party, Samajwadi Party, People’s Republican Party, Communist Party of India, Janata Dal (United), and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) would participate in the protest.

ALSO READ: BJP draws flak for inconsistent stand on farm loan waiver issue

This is the first time in recent years that all opposition parties in the state are coming together on a single issue. A Congress legislator said the opposition also wanted to put pressure on the Shiv Sena, which is part of the ruling alliance but has diluted its tough stand on farm debt-waiver. “We will expose Shiv Sena and tell farmers that it is more interested in power than farmers’ welfare. We also want to know what the farmers feel on this issue," said the legislator requesting anonymity.

Meanwhile, some BJP legislators, especially those from Vidarbha and Marathwada, are getting nervous on the issue of farm debt waiver since it has dominated legislative proceedings so far. These legislators, who are familiar with the agrarian crisis and who requested anonymity, say the opposition protest could paint the government as being “anti-farmer".

“We understand that loan waiver is not the solution but if the opposition is able to whip up passions on this issue, then there is little scope for rational argument," said a senior BJP leader and legislator from Marathwada who did not wish to be named. Another legislator said the centre had virtually left the state BJP to fend for itself on this issue. “The chief minister took a delegation to meet finance minister Arun Jaitley in Delhi. On Sunday, our finance minister met Jaitley again in Mumbai. Nothing concrete has come out of these meetings yet," this legislator said requesting anonymity.

ALSO READ: Farm loan waiver tops Yogi Adityanath govt’s agenda in Uttar Pradesh

A state BJP functionary was more candid. “We have to admit that on this issue we have little to offer by way of solution if the centre does not help. The centre also has the responsibility to help us out because it has partly created the problem for us by announcing debt-waiver in Uttar Pradesh," this BJP functionary said referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s electoral promise in Uttar Pradesh that has come to haunt the Maharashtra BJP.

Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!

Catch all the Politics News and Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.
More Less
Published: 29 Mar 2017, 02:11 AM IST
Next Story footLogo
Recommended For You
Switch to the Mint app for fast and personalized news - Get App