Will form government of farmers, people in Maharashtra in 2019: Cong

Ashok Chavan

The Congress will form a government of "farmers and people" in Maharashtra after the 2019 assembly elections, state party President and former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan said here on Monday.

Claiming that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena had formed the state government in 2014 with "only 30 per cent vote share", Chavan said that the Opposition would now not allow the remaining 70 percent votes to get divided in the next assembly elections, due in October 2019.

"Across Maharashtra, the Opposition is speaking out against Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP-Shiv Sena government. The Congress' 'Jan Sangharsh Yatra', the Nationalist Congress Party's 'Halla Bol' campaign and the CPI (M)'s Kisan Long March are all proof that this government is facing resistance from all sections of society," he said.

He was speaking at the Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha's (AIKS) Kisan Hakka Parishad Monday evening. NCP President Sharad Pawar, state NCP chief Jayant Patil, CPI(M) leader Hannan Mollah, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil and other senior leaders were also present.

Attacking the ruling alliance for its failure to provide relief to people in the parched regions of the state despite repeated declarations of drought, Chavan accused Fadnavis of indulging in wordplay, while farmers across Maharashtra continued to suffer.

"For the first time in Maharashtra, the government has used words like 'drought-like' solution to trick the people of the state. Despite declaring a drought, they have made no provisions to provide drought relief," he pointed out.

He also criticised the government's flagship farm loan waiver announcement, claiming that the party's Jan Sangharsh Yatra travelled across rural areas "but found that many had failed to get the benefit" from the scheme.

Chavan said that despite assurances over the past four years, the government could not introduce legislation to ensure minimum support prices in the state for agriculture produce, and though MSP centres are inaugurated, they are not functional.

He targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's crop insurance scheme, terming it as "a failure" which did not benefit the farmers, but enriched the private insurance companies.

Chavan reiterated that a united opposition front would take on the BJP-Sena in 2019 and efforts are underway to establish a common ground among all the opposition parties.

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