Devendra Fadnavis busy in poll-bound Bihar, leaving Maharashtra farmers in lurch: Uddhav Thackeray

Shiv Sena UBT president Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday hit out at Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis saying he was busy in pollbound Bihar but left farmers in his own state in the lurchHe said the date of June 30 2026 given by the government for a decision on farm loan waiver for the rain and floodaffected farmers in the state was not acceptableThackeray also said the CM should clarify whether farmers are required to continue paying their instalments if the government plans to waive the loansThe Shiv Sena UBT head on Wednesday commenced his fourday Marathwada tour from Nandar village in Paithan taluka of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar where he interacted with farmers He also visited Pali village in Beed and is scheduled to go to Pathrud Shirsav Dharashiv and Ghari Solapur villages later in the daySpeaking in Pali village Thackeray said People should unite and teach a lesson to the current government I am here with you people and the CM is in Bihar Farmers are in trouble here But leaving farmers in this situation he is going around in Bihar Here they BJPled government give benefits of the Ladki Bahin scheme only to two members of a family but in Bihar they give Rs 10000 in every womans account This is because there are elections in BiharI have a video of the CM saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi loves Bihar the most Then is Maharashtra a stepson for them They enjoy power here but use such language there The PM should love the entire country from Kashmir to Kanyakumari he saidElections to the 243member Bihar legislative assembly will be held in Bihar on 6 November and 11 The results will be announced on November 14Thackeray urged people not to fall prey to the hollow promises of the governmentThe ruling parties give hollow promises and announce schemes when elections are round the corner People fall prey to them This is the time for farmers to stand united and teach a lesson to the current government The government should be brought to its knees We will ask questions related to farmers in the upcoming assembly session he addedFadnavis last week announced that a decision on farm loan waiver will be taken by June 30 next year citing that it is first important to ensure cultivators get compensation for flood relief and also to prepare for Rabi sowingCriticising the government over the timeline Thackeray said in Nandar village This date is not acceptable to us We are demanding Rs 50000 per hectare for farmers as compensation for their losses The farmers also need a loan waiver now The government says that it wants to study this issueEarlier during my government we did the study and its details are still with the government Our government then granted the loan waiver he saidThe state government has now given a new date of June 30 next year for the loan waiver he notedIf the loan is going to be waived in June next year then should the farmers pay their instalments now or not If yes from where should the farmers pay the amounts Thackeray askedHe demanded that farmers be given the loan waiver nowThe government earlier said it would give compensation for excessive rainfall and floods to farmers by Diwali last month But Diwali has passedthe government is giving just new dates We dont accept the date of June for the loan waiver The loan waiver for farmers should be given now itself he stressedLast month the state government announced a Rs 31628crore relief package for farmers affected by the AugustSeptember deluge which damaged crops over 687 lakh hectares across 29 districtsTargeting the Mahayuti government over it Thackeray said The package declared by the state for farmers is also unacceptable But they should at least give what they have declared We had demanded that at least Rs 1 lakh be deposited in the farmers accounts till Diwali But it was also not fulfilledHe claimed some farmers have received singledigit amounts as compensation in their accountsThe farmers in Palghar and Akola got Rs 2 as aid in their accounts A farmer got Rs 6 as compensation he addedHe said that during a cabinet meeting held on Tuesday there was anger among officials over the delay in giving compensation to the farmersThe government has merely announced the funds and has not actually released any So what will the officials do he askedThe farmers should cast their vote in the local polls only after they get a loan waiver The farmers should come together on this issue the Sena UBT chief saidWe demand that the farmers should get Rs 50000 per hectare compensation for the losses he saidReferring to former MLA and Prahar Janshakti Party PJP leader Bachchu Kadus recent protest seeking farm loan waiver Thackeray said We are happy that someone launched an agitation for farmers But the government called the agitators and gave a hollow promise about the loan waiver The date of the loan waiver decision is unacceptableWith inputs from PTI