Lambasting Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray’s drought tours, farmer leader and former MP Raju Shetti on Tuesday said Mr. Thackeray’s sudden concern for farmers in the face of the Assembly elections smacks of political opportunism.
The Swabhimani Paksha chief alleged that priority was given to the fodder camps run by leaders of the BJP-Sena government, and claimed there was widespread corruption in these camps.
“Mr. Thackeray’s visits to the drought-hit parts of Maharashtra are merely for his selfish political ends. Why has Mr. Thackeray not taken action against crop insurance firms in the last four years? Why is he bringing them up now in his speeches in a phony show of solidarity with farmers?” Mr. Shetti told The Hindu from Kolhapur.
He said it is clear that insurance companies are fobbing off farmers, and yet the government, of which the Sena is part, does nothing to stop them. “Cases of data alteration in crop cutting experiments, which form the basis of farmers’ claims for securing crop insurance, are rampant in Marathwada, especially in Parbhani district. Yet, the inaction of district officials and lack of action by ruling party leaders proves that they are in cahoots with these companies.”
He said information obtained via RTI has revealed that 41 lakh of the 65 lakh farmers in the eight districts that comprise Marathwada have not been given insurance. “I am reliably informed that these firms have made a handsome profit of ₹1,237 crore only in the Marathwada region.”
Alleging that the government only organised fodder camps in areas where their leaders were in power, Mr. Shetti said farmers in Chandwad in Nashik had to agitate for two months before a proper camp was set up in their area.
“In another instance, a young Swabhimani Paksha activist, who had started a fodder camp on his own in Ahmednagar’s Pathardi taluk in the beginning of the drought, had to repeatedly petition ruling party legislators and MPs to sustain it. It was only after I called all BJP leaders in Ahmednagar that the ruling party provided resources,” he claimed.
The former two-time MP from Hatkanangale in Kolhapur, who was upstaged in the general elections by Sena’s Dhairyasheel Mane, had earlier hit out at Mr. Thackeray and the Sena in a Facebook post.
“Farmers and their plight were forgotten when the BJP and the Sena used to bicker among themselves. One has never heard Mr. Thackeray or the Sena expressing concern over the rising farmer suicides, which have increased during the rule of the BJP-Sena in the State. It is only about the building of the Ram Mandir,” Mr. Shetti said.
In his post, the former MP chastised the BJP-Sena government for non-implementation of its ambitious loan waiver scheme, alleging that 30 lakh farmers were yet to avail of the benefits of the scheme since it was announced in 2017.