Nana Patole alleges govt indulging in luxury on public money for Marathwada meet

Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole on Friday slammed the state government and accused them of spending crores of rupees on Aurangabad cabinet meeting and rubbing salt on the wounds of those affected by the droughtlike situation in MarathwadaPatole according to the PTI report was talking about the cabinet meeting scheduled to be held in Aurangabad on September 16 Patole alleged that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde ministers and other officials will be lodging at a fivestar hotel on taxpayersrsquo moneyEven as farmers are dying the state government indulges in fivestar luxury on public money It will just make some false promises and walk away In Marathwada farmer suicides are on the rise and the demand for the Maratha reservation has also intensifiedrdquo Patole was quoted as sayingHe alleged that CM Shinde ministers and other officials will be lodging in a lavish fivestar hotel using taxpayers money in spite of the grim situation in the state especially Marathwada Patole further added that spending millions on a cabinet meeting while public is struggling with inflation is like rubbing salt in their woundsPatole according to PTI report questioned the need for extravagant display of wealth of the incumbent government and said that previous chief ministers stayed at government guesthouse when earlier cabinet meetings were held in AurangabadThe former assembly speaker questioned Crores of rupees are being spent on hotel stays and other arrangements such as vehicles for officers and staff There was no need for such extravagance Why cant they stay in a simple government guesthouse to understand the issues of Marathwadas peoplerdquoAlluding to the viral video he alleged that the Shindeled government was not interested in helping people but in putting up a show He said that CM Shinde and his cabinet will come to Aurangabad hold a meeting talk and then walk away after making empty promises to the public of Marathwada like they previously didPatole slammed the government saying they have not provided assistance to the farmers who incurred massive losses due to droughtlike situation in Marathwada ldquoThe onion subsidy announced by the government has not been distributed Patole told PTIPatole alleged that the government claims it does not have funds to provide scholarships to students from Other Backward Classes He pointed out how government is hiring contract workers at minimum wages citing increased salary expenses of employeesThe Congress leader said ldquoDespite all this the thickskinned government is wasting public money by organising programmes to showcase its achievements This insensitive government has splurged on advertising events and now it will waste public money on cabinet meetingsrdquoMeanwhile the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar echoing similar sentiments slammed the government asked if they were visiting Aurangabad as visitorsWith PTI inputs