SME Times News Bureau | 09 Jun, 2017
Virtually rejecting
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis assurance of coming up with the ‘biggest farm loan
waiver in history, farmers groups on Thursday served a two-day ultimatum to the
Maharashtra government to accept their demands, failing which they threatened
the agitation would be intensified with a ‘rail blockade next Tuesday.
Announcing their plans at a full meeting of the Kisan Kranti's Core Committee
in Nashik on Thursday evening, farmers leaders like Anil Nawale, state general
secretary of All India Kisan Sabha, said if the government failed to heed the
two-day ultimatum, farmers would take out morchas to collectorates and
government offices in all districts on Monday, followed by a state-wide
rail-roko and road-blocks the following day.
Top farmers leaders, including ruling ally Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana's
Raju Shetti, Omprakash Babarao alias Bacchu Kadu, Raghunathdada Patil, Trade
Unions Joint Action Committee (Maharashtra) Convenor Vishwas Utagi and others
spoke on the occasion.
Stating that farmers in several states are agitating, Shetti urged the farmers
to carry out "such an agitation that Delhi should tremble" before
them, and indicated that his party would soon walk out of the ruling Bharatiya
Janata Party-led alliance in Maharashtra.
Independent legislator Kadu warned that if the government failed to respond, he
would not hesitate "to bomb" the residence of Chief Minister Devendra
Fadnavis.
"If the government does not listen to the farmers, just like the way
Bhagat Singh lobbed a bomb, I will also drop at bomb at the CM's
residence," declared Kadu, who recently shot to headlines after calling
BJP MP and former actress Hema Malini "a bumper drinker".
"The agitation is spreading across India. We support the demands of
complete debt waiver for all farmers whose loans are outstanding with district
cooperative and nationalized banks, full implementation of the M.S. Swaminathan
Committee Report and a Rs 5,000 monthly pension to all farmers as social
security," demanded Utagi.
Maharashtra farmers across the state – barring urban or semi-urban centres like
Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Aurangabad and others have been on a
strike since June 1.
Several lakhs of farmers have virtually taken to the streets with road blocks,
mock funerals of the Chief Minister and the government, tonsuring of heads,
processions in semi-clad condition, emptying scores of tankerloads of fresh
milk, fruits and vegetables on the roads, and other forms of agitation to
highlight their demands.
The agitation also included a ‘Maharashtra shutdown' on Monday and lockdown of
several government offices, demonstrations outside offices of ministers and
legislators.
Fadnavis had announced on Tuesday that the government was working out the
"biggest" farm loans waiver package in the state's history by October
31.
The agitation caused severe disruptions in arrivals of milk, fruits and
vegetables from mofussil areas to urban markets, resulting in shortages and
spiralling retail prices as the government made arrangements to procure the
requirements by railways from neighbouring Gujarat.