Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal has alleged that six farmers are committing suicide every day in the state, while the Mahayuti government remains unconcerned. Speaking to reporters, Sapkal criticised the Devendra Fadnavis-led government for its delay in implementing a farm loan waiver.
"This government is not only thick-skinned like a rhinoceros, but also blind, mute, and deaf," he said. He accused the ruling alliance of being "anti-farmer" and questioned why Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde, and Ajit Pawar could not sign off on a loan waiver.
The Congress leader cited the case of Babasaheb Subhash Sarode, a farmer from Nevasa taluka in Ahilyanagar, who died by suicide.
He claimed that Sarode had recorded a video before ending his life, in which he said he was hoping for a loan waiver to make him debt-free, but he was forced to take the extreme step as the government had failed poor farmers.
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"Even today, they say, 'We will announce the loan waiver at the right time.' But how many more farmers must lose their lives before that 'right time' comes?" Sapkal asked.
State Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule last week said that the government will waive loans for only needy farmers, and not those building farmhouses and bungalows.
Instead of a blanket waiver, the government is working towards granting relief to poor farmers whose fields yield nothing, those who have taken loans and are on the verge of suicide, he said.
During the monsoon session of the state assembly, the government had informed the House that a committee had been set up to study whether a waiver should be granted and how it should be implemented, and said that a decision would be taken after the committee submits its report.
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