Opposition walks out of Maharashtra Council over alleged 'power stealer' remark against farmers

Opposition leaders protesting outside Maharashtra Legislative Council. Pic/Suresh Kurkera

Opposition members walked out of the Maharashtra Legislative Council after claiming that a member from the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allegedly referred to farmers as "power stealers".

Later, speaking to reporters in the Vidhan Bhavan premises, Leader of Opposition in the Council Pravin Darekar said they had raised the issue of farmers' electricity connections being disconnected by the state power utility. "We wanted a discussion on the plight of farmers and sought some relief for the farming community. However, a member from the MVA asked what about farmers who steal electricity. Such a question was completely irrelevant as farmers have been severely affected because of various restrictions imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus," the BJP leader said. He said the demand (for produce by cultivators) has gone down which also affected the income of farmers.

"Unfortunately, we noticed such an insensitive attitude of a Council member towards farmers, hence we staged a walk out," Darekar said. The BJP leader claimed he did not remember the name of the MVA member who made those comments in the House. Darekar also expressed disappointment with Maharashtra Minister of State for Energy Prajakt Tanpure.

"Our calling attention was regarding farmers' issues and how the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company can come up with policies that would be lenient towards the agriculture sector. Tanpure preferred to point out the Union government and its policies and tried to pass the blame," the BJP leader said.

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