Ex-ally farmer group targets CM Devendra Fadnavis, raises graft allegations

Raju Shetti

A former ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Maharashtra has stoked a political controversy, raising allegations of graft in the state’s farm loan waiver scheme. Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS) leader Raju Shetti, who left the NDA in August this year, Thursday targetted Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, accusing the Information Technology (IT) department of “wrongdoing” worth several crores in the implementation of the loan waiver scheme.

Fadnavis heads the IT department. While Shetti did not name the CM directly, he raised accusations against his Officer on Special Duty Kaustubh Dhavse and Principal Secretary (IT) Vijay Kumar Gautam in the matter, prompting the CMO to issue a clarification refuting the allegations as “baseless and politically motivated”.

The Opposition attempted to cash in on the controversy, with the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) targetting the CMO over it. Shetti, a Lok Sabha MP, alleged that the contract allotted for the portal developed for the farm loan waiver was awarded to an “inexperienced” firm in violation of norms. He has alleged that no tender process had been followed for the process. Gautam, when contacted, however refuted the allegations.

“The portal work is part of a five-year contract allotted to a system integrator for all the direct benefit transfer schemes in Maharashtra. A high-powered committee headed by the Chief Secretary had selected the integrator after a due tendering process had been followed,” Gautam said. The CMO, too, later issued a clarification on similar grounds, while accusing Shetti of political vendetta.

Shetti did not share any official papers to substantiate his accusations. The allegations come at a time when the state government is facing criticism for the delay in the implementation of the loan waiver scheme. The government has been struggling to clear the list of eligible beneficiaries, with the IT department finding it difficult to verify the details of farm loan accounts provided by the banks. While Shetti had alleged that the system integrator’s work had been allotted to a Nagpur-based firm, Gautam said that the contractor was headquartered in Mumbai. Shetti has been at loggerhead with the BJP ever since he left the NDA.