Oppn MVA skips CM Fadnavis’ traditional tea meet ahead of Monsoon Session, cites 'governance failures'

On the eve of the Maharashtra Legislatures Monsoon Session the opposition coalition Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA on Sunday boycotted the traditional hightea meeting hosted by Chief Minister Devendra FadnavisA threeweek monsoon session will begin on Monday and will conclude on July 10In a strongly worded letter addressed to the Chief Minister senior MVA leaders including Jayant Patil Jitendra Awhad Bhaskar Jadhav Satej Patil Anil Parab Ambadas Danve and Amin Patel slammed the Mahayuti government for failing to address critical crises gripping the state news agency IANS reported The opposition stated that participating in a formal tea party while the public faces severe distress would be a complete disregard for public anger They took the unanimous decision to boycott the customary tea after they met this afternoonAt the press conference Jayant Patil Bhaskar Jadhav and Satej Patil highlighted 13 core issues demonstrating the governments inaction and insensitivityrdquoThe MVA leaders emphasised that their primary reason for the boycott is that the positions of Leader of Opposition LoP in both the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council remain vacant They accused the government of undermining democratic and constitutional values by leaving these crucial watchdog positions empty and instead sending individual tea party invitations to MLAsDelayed rains have triggered a severe drought Water storage levels in the states dams have plummeted to just 2354 per cent completely halting sowing operationsFarmer distress and scheme failuresThe opposition called the Rs 36585 crore Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Farmer Freedom Scheme a trap of terms and conditions rather than actual relief demanding that farmers 712 land records be cleared unconditionallyLow procurement prices and alleged scamsFarmers are receiving throwaway prices as low as 50 paise per kg in Satana and Rs 400 for 73 bags in Solapur while consumers pay Rs 25 per kg The MVA also alleged a major scam in procurement noting that 11 unqualified cooperative societies were illegally awarded NAFED procurement contracts A compensation of Rs 22000 per hectare for mango and cashew cultivators was deemed highly inadequate leading to the regions first recorded farmer suicidesInfrastructure delays and irregularitiesFurthermore the MumbaiGoa highway remains incomplete after 17 years yet toll collection continues at KharpadaLadki Bahin scheme irregularitiesThe MVA alleged massive irregularities in the flagship Ladki Bahin scheme They revealed that out of 247 crore beneficiaries a staggering 81 lakh were found ineligible indicating a wrongful distribution of roughly Rs 24300 crore They also questioned how 14000 men managed to register on a portal meant exclusively for womenWomenrsquos safety crime and youth issuesThe opposition painted a grim picture of womens safety and crime in the state citing that 3279 POCSO cases were registered in the first four months of 2026 alone Statistics cited include an assault on a minor every 53 minutes and 24 minor rapes daily They also flagged youth drug addiction highlighting recent drug overdoses at a Pune rave party and a Mumbai music concert alongside Nagpur ranking second nationwide in murder casesCorruption allegations in contractsLevying severe corruption charges the MVA claimed that contractors now face a 44 per cent commission demand to secure government projects plus an additional 5 per cent to get their own bills cleared They stated that pending bills for Marathi contractors have reached nearly Rs one lakh croreThe MVA demanded the cancellation of the 856km PawanartoPatradevi Shaktipeeth Highway stating it unnecessarily claims thousands of acres of fertile land just to benefit contractorsThe opposition leaders noted that Latur Pune and Nashik emerged as centres for the nationwide NEET exam paper leak on May 3 leading to student suicides and immense mental distressWhile the government claims to have planted 138 crore trees reports show Maharashtra has lost 23000 hectares of tree cover citing rampant cutting in Thane Aarey and around major corridor projects it saidTo register our protest against the inactive and insensitive role of the government on all these serious issues the opposition is boycotting the official presession tea program We expect the government to prioritise the problems of farmers women youth labourers students and common citizens and take immediate concrete decisionsrdquo said Jayant Patil Bhaskar Jadhav and Satej PatilWith IANS inputs