Mumbai: The Maharashtra Congress will begin the fourth phase of its Jansangharsh Yatra in western Vidarbha on December 4.
“Our party has been protesting the anti-people policies of the Bharatiya Janata Party government. The State has been lagging in every sector in the last four years, and the yatra aims to highlight the government’s failures. The State and the Centre are unable to fulfil even a single promise to the people,” State Congress president and former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan said on Sunday. Mr. Chavan claimed more than 17,000 farmers have committed suicide in the State, and now they are not getting the right price for their crops.
“The violence against women has increased while inflation, unemployment, corruption are on the rise. The State is facing a drought but it hasn’t come up with relief measures. Hence, the party decided to organise the campaign to raise issues affecting people,” he said.
The yatra will begin at Kalamb, a village in Yavatmal district, and passes through Washim, Akola, and Amravati before ending at a public rally in Buldhana’s Chikhli on December 9.
Mr. Chavan said taking money from Shirdi’s Saibaba temple trust to complete an irrigation project in Ahmadnagar district is a glaring example of the financial mismanagement.
“The loan burden on the State government has crossed ₹5 lakh crore. Financial indiscipline is visible through record-breaking supplementary demands. The revenue is coming down. And now the government is eyeing donations made by devotees to temples,” the Congress leader pointed out.