Pune: Senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said the Maharashtra government must take a loan to provide relief to farmers affected by heavy rains as doing so was not a “sin†nor would it be unprecedented. He also took a swipe at Uddhav Thackeray’s tour of rain-affected areas and sarcastically called it a “big dealâ€.
Speaking to reporters while touring rain-hit regions of Pune and Solapur, Fadnavis said the state’s limit to obtain loans had not even been utilised “50 per centâ€. “We (Maharashtra) have a loan limit of Rs 1.20 lakh but we have taken only Rs 50,000 crore so far,†he said.
Fadnavis said he agreed with NCP chief Sharad Pawar that the state government must take a loan to help farmers hit by crop loss. “Taking a loan to help farmers is not a sin nor would it be a new thing for the state,†said Fadnavis who also claimed rains had disrupted power supply which in turn had cut off villages, leading to no government official managing to reach those affected.
Speaking during a tour of rain-affected areas of Marathwada earlier in the day, Pawar had said, “The state has no option but to take loan to help the flood-affected people.The state is facing a historic economic crisis. I will meet the chief minister to discuss the issue.†Speaking to reporters in Pandharpur, Fadnavis took a swipe at Thackeray’s flood relief tour and said,†It is a big deal for him as he came out and traveled for two to three hours.†The BJP has been routinely accusing Thackeray of staying put in Mumbai during crises, including the coronavirus outbreak, a charge denied by the Maha Vikas Aghadi government as well as the Shiv Sena.
Instead of making “mean†statements about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the CM should spell out how he will help distressed farmers, Fadnavis said. Fadnavis said the Thackeray government was passing the buck to the Centre though it had the power to provide help.
“During our regime, we provided relief to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore,†he said. Last week, heavy rains and floods claimed at least 48 lives in Pune, Aurangabad and Konkan divisions, while crops on several lakh hectares were damaged.
As per official information, till Friday, as many as 40,036 people were shifted to safer places in four districts, including over 32,500 in Solapur and over 6,000 in Pune. PTI SPK BNM BNM 10191837 NNNN.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor
