Maharashtra Opposition Raises Multiple Issues in Budget Session

From the corruption scandal at the Mantralaya cabin of NCP minister Narhari Zirwal to the Indo-US trade deal, to the circumstances around the death of former Maharashtra deputy CM Ajit Pawar, Opposition parties are set to raise a host of issues in the legislature’s budget session set to begin from Monday. The Opposition has also demanded a white paper on Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ’s claims about attracting Rs 30 lakh-crore investments at the World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos, Switzerland. Protesting against the “corrupt administration and anti-people policies of the state’s Mahayuti government”, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) boycotted the official tea party hosted by the state government on the eve of the budget session. The Opposition added that it was declining the high tea invite due to the government’s “ambiguous stand” on the death of Ajit Pawar in a plane accident. Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Bhaskar Jadhav said that corruption was happening within the Mantralaya, as evidenced by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) raid and the arrest of Minister Zirwal’s office staff. Stating that the trade deal between India and the United States would adversely affect cotton growers and fisherfolk from the state, Jadhav asked, “Has the state government realised the harm it would cause to the soyabean and cotton farmers of the state?” Satej Patil, the Congress leader in the Legislative Council, alleged that a raid on Narhari Zirwal’s office in Mantralaya could not have occurred without Fadnavis’s consent. “If Fadnavis seriously wished to improve the state’s image, he should have sought Zirwal’s resignation,” he said. Patil criticised the Rs 1.02 lakh-crore Shaktipeeth Mahamarg project, saying it was unwanted and that the state was pushing it despite nobody having asked for it. Questioning Fadnavis’s claim of signing MoUs worth Rs 30 lakh crore, Congress legislative party leader Vijay Wadettiwar demanded a white paper on the investment claims. “Many of the companies were already located in Maharashtra, and some did not have sufficient capital, making the claims ambiguous,” he said. “Why could the government not increase the Ladki Bahin scheme funds from Rs 1,500 to Rs 3,000 if it was receiving so many investments?” he asked. Wadettiwar said that farmer suicides were on the rise in the state. “In January alone, 76 farmers committed suicide in Marathwada, with the highest toll of 24 in Beed district. The government has no policy of farmer loan waivers, and farmers have not received crop insurance. Despite sending a proposal for aid to the central government following heavy rains, the state government has yet to receive funds. Maharashtra’s farmers are trapped in the clutches of moneylenders. The situation is so dire that a farmer in Chandrapur was forced to put his kidney up for sale,” he said. The Opposition also said it would raise issues such as extending mining activities in the forests of Vidarbha to giving land to industrialist Gautam Adani on lease on cheaper rates. Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray said that while Fadnavis marketed himself as an “infra-man,” a metro slab collapse in Mulund resulted in one death. He labelled the MMRDA-built bridge a “mockery” and asked how residents were expected to survive when there was death on the streets.