Cong to hold protests in Maharashtra on Mar 3, 4 to highlight issues linked to farmers, local bodies

Mumbai, Feb 25 (PTI) Maharashtra Congress chief Harshvardhan Sapkal on Tuesday said his party will hold state-wide protests on March 3, the first day of the state legislature's budget session, to highlight the "plight of farmers under the Devendra Fadnavis-led government".

The party will also hold agitations on March 4 in municipal areas to draw the government's attention to public grievances about civic issues.

The budget session of the state legislature will be held from March 3 to 26.

Addressing a press conference here, Sapkal said farmers have no guarantee of fair prices for agricultural produce.

"Despite promises of farm loan waiver during the elections, the BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP government is yet to fulfil its commitment. In order to highlight this, the Congress will hold a state-wide agitation on March 3, the first day of the budget session of the state legislature," he said.

A meeting of state Congress leaders was held at the Tilak Bhavan here, where discussions were held on pressing public grievances and the party's upcoming protest schedule.

'Sadbhavana Padyatra' would be held in Beed district on March 8-9, he said.

Accusing the BJP-led government of being "anti-farmer and pro-corporate", Sapkal said farmers are being forced to sell soybean at Rs 4,000 per quintal, much below the minimum support price (MSP), and crops such as onion, gram and cotton have also been affected due to low prices.

The state Congress chief also slammed the central government for its decision to import tur dal from Australia, stating that the move would harm domestic farmers as it would reduce the prices of their produce.

"The Congress will hold protests at district headquarters across Maharashtra on March 3 in view of the deteriorating condition of farmers and to pressure the government to take immediate corrective steps," he said.

Sapkal said elections to local bodies in the state have been pending since the last three years, leading to a governance vacuum in municipal corporations and councils.

"The BJP is deliberately delaying elections to retain control over the administration. While Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is trying to retain all the power in his hands in the state, Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to do the same at the national level," he alleged.

As a result, local representatives such as corporators have no decision-making authority, and municipal administration has come under the influence of ministers and MLAs, leading to rampant mismanagement, he added.

The Congress will stage a protest in municipal areas on March 4 to draw the government's attention to public grievances, he said.

Responding to questions, Sapkal said that while CM Fadnavis granted a clean chit to 106 individuals for appointments as ministers' personal assistants (PAs) and personal secretaries (PSs), 16 individuals were denied appointments on the grounds of being "fixers".

He said CM Fadnavis should publicly disclose the names of these 16 fixers as well as the names of the ministers they worked under.

Merely targeting officials would not suffice and action must also be taken against these fixer ministers, he demanded.

"Public services have come to a standstill, and administrative inaction has left people frustrated. Officials are reckless and ministers are indifferent," he said.

He slammed the administration for its apathy, and alleged that revenue department officials are engaging in illegal parties at private resorts while governance remains in disarray. PTI MR NP

Source: PTI