Declare drought, pay Rs 50,000 per hectare or ministers cannot tour state: Sapkal

Rainfall has failed in several parts of Maharashtra, creating drought-like conditions. The opposition claims a long dry spell and crop losses have put farmers in serious crisis. Congress state president Harshvardhan Sapkal has sharply attacked the Mahayuti government over the issue.

Sapkal said there is a severe drought situation in several parts of the state, with not a drop of rain in a month and a half, and crops in the fields have dried up and been ruined. But the Mahayuti government has paid no attention to this. He said the cabinet meeting only held discussions with no concrete decision taken, and guardian ministers have not even visited farmers. Farmers are in crisis while the government wastes time, he said. Sapkal demanded that, given the drought situation in the state, the government immediately declare a drought and deposit fifty thousand rupees per hectare into farmers' bank accounts. He also demanded blanket loan waivers, warning that otherwise ministers would not be allowed to tour the state.

Speaking further on the drought, Sapkal said the BJP-led Mahayuti government is insensitive. Farmers are suffering in crisis and are being deliberately ignored, he said. He said the government spends three hundred fifty crore rupees on installing CCTV cameras for the Kumbh Mela but is delaying payments to farmers. Despite the need to use artificial rain, that decision too has not been taken. According to Sapkal, there is tremendous public anger against the Mahayuti government, but those in power have become shameless. They have no concern for farmers and the common people and are interested only in corruption and commissions, he said. Sapkal said there is still time, and since festival days are approaching, the government should immediately declare a drought and provide concrete help before Dussehra.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday, Sapkal said sarcastically that Modi has achieved nothing in twelve years to warrant an appeal for people to light lamps on his birthday. He said that under Modi, the youth have no jobs, women are not safe, farmers are in crisis, the economy is in ruins and inflation is skyrocketing, so there is nothing to celebrate. Sapkal said celebrating a birthday does not suit a time when the public is in crisis. He further said that Modi himself had appealed to people not to buy gold, not to travel abroad, to use less oil and to be frugal, yet on his own birthday people were asked to light oil lamps, which is infuriating. This is like self-worship, he said. It is unfortunate that the country has got such a dishonest and inconsistent prime minister, he said.

Targeting the Election Commission, Sapkal said it has become an instrument of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Through the SIR, the right to vote itself is being taken away, which is a major crisis for democracy. He said the Election Commission's conduct is leading towards anarchy, which the Congress party opposes, and Congress is fighting on the streets to preserve democracy in the country.