MUMBAI: Pressure is building on chief minister Devendra Fadnavis after his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Yogi Aditya Nath’s decision to write off agricultural loans to the tune of Rs 36,000 crore.
Ahead of the UP assembly polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah had promised to waive loans. Following the UP government’s announcement, former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar (NCP) on Tuesday gave a three-day ultimatum to the government. Ajit Pawar asked Fadnavis to convene a special session to consider the agrarian crisis and loan-waiver package.
Ajit Pawar was addressing a largely attended ‘Sangharsha Yatra’ taken out by the opposition at Panvel in Raigad district.The rally was addressed by NCP chief Sharad Pawar, former chief ministers Ashok Chavan, Prithviraj Chavan, Narayan Raneand leaders of the opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil and Dhananjay Munde “When Manmohan Singh was the prime minister, he had waived loans to the tune of Rs 71,000 crore of farmers across the country. If Fadnavis wants to tackle the agrarian crisis, lo an waiver is the on ly option,” Ajit Pa war said.
The NCP, which champions interests of cultivators, has been aggressively pursuing the issue of writing off farmers’ loans. “At a juncture when the entire farming community is passing through a critical phase, the loan waiver is the only hope for their survival,” Sharad Pawar said. Vikhe-Patil said if it was possible for the UP government, it should not be difficult for the Maharashtra government.