MVA slams Maharashtra govt over riot cases, boycotts customary tea party on winter session eve

Maharashtra opposition leader Vijay Wadettiwar slammed the Shiv Sena-led government over the highest number of riot cases in the state and its failure to tackle farm distress, setting an aggressive tone for the winter session of the legislature beginning here on Thursday.

Maharashtra opposition leader Vijay Wadettiwar slammed the Shiv Sena-led government over the highest number of riot cases in the state and its ''failure'' to tackle farm distress, setting an aggressive tone for the winter session of the legislature beginning here on Thursday. On the eve of the winter session, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) boycotted the customary tea party hosted by the government. Speaking to reporters here, Wadettiwar cited the latest crime bureau data and crop loss to target the government over the law and order and issues concerning farmers. He said since the Opposition wanted to raise several issues, the duration of the legislature session, scheduled to conclude on December 20, should be extended. ''We received an invitation from the state government for the tea party but we felt it would be highly inappropriate to attend it. We have decided to boycott the event," the Congress leader said.

Referring to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data for the year 2022, Wadettiwar claimed that 22,746 farmers have committed suicide in Maharashtra because of agrarian distress and indebtedness.

''The government has failed to address the agrarian distress in Maharashtra. There is no check on the rampant drug supply in the state. The NCRB figures also indicate that 8,218 cases of rioting were reported in the state (in 2022), which is the highest number in that year. In such a scenario, will fresh investment come to our state?'' he questioned.

Maharashtra is known as a progressive state but the highest number of riots have occurred in the state under the incumbent Mahayuti government, Wadettiwar alleged.

''Cases of riots and rape grew exponentially after the formation of the Mahayuti government,'' the Congress leader told a joint press conference which was also addressed by other leaders of MVA. The winter session of the state legislature is conventionally held in Nagpur, the second capital of Maharashtra, every year.

Wadettiwar said farmers have been suffering due to crop loss and unseasonal rain for the last four years. He alleged that farmers are yet to receive Rs 50,000 financial assistance for crop loss they had suffered in 2022 under the Shetkari Sanman Yojana. ''Farmers are perishing but the government is splurging public money on big events like 'Shasan aaplya Dari' (government at your doorsteps). Beed district saw the highest number of suicides by agriculturists. In Vidarbha and Marathwada regions, farmers are badly affected by drought, shortage of water supply, and unseasonal rains,'' Wadettiwar said. Crops of soybean, cotton, paddy, and soybean suffered damage in unseasonal rain.

He demanded the government conduct panchnamas (assessment) of crop loss and waive farm loans.

Alleging deterioration in the law and order situation, the Congress leader claimed 112 thefts at houses take place every day in the Vidarbha region alone, including Nagpur.

Notably, Nagpur is the home turf of state home minister Devendra Fadnavis. ''As per NCRB, 2,503 thefts took place in Nagpur in 2022. Maharashtra is at the third position in the cases of murder and at the fourth in rape cases. It ranks 14th in cybercrime,'' Wadettiwar said and raised concerns over suicide by farmers, which he blamed on ''poverty and unemployment''. Against the backdrop of protests by Marathas for the reservation under the OBC grouping, he alleged the government allowed this issue to fester to derive political mileage and to pit one community against another. The government ignored the opposition's demand to conduct a caste census in Maharashtra and also not allotting a five per cent quota to Muslims, he said. Taking a dig over the pending expansion of the state cabinet, Wadettiwar said the government lacked the guts to do this exercise. The Mahayuti government comprises Shiv Sena led by chief minister Eknath Shine, the BJP, and the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction).

Wadettiwar's counterpart in the legislative council, Ambadas Danve, targeted the government over the sudden deaths in state-run hospitals in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nanded, Thane, and Kolhapur in the recent past.

''The number of deaths in large numbers is unprecedented. The purchase of medicine was not done properly by the Health department,'' he said and alleged ''huge corruption''.

''Wrong people are put in the top position in place of good officers,'' he added. Danve alleged the government is giving ''hollow'' commitments to farmers and denying them justice by not accepting their demands. Earlier in the day, opposition parties held a meeting in Nagpur to discuss the agenda for the winter session, likely to be dominated by issues such as the Maratha reservation demand and crop loss among others, in the next ten days.

This meeting was attended by former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and Wadettiwar (both Congress), opposition leader in the Legislative Council Ambadas Danve (Shiv Sena-UBT), and NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) leaders Jayant Patil and Anil Deshmukh.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)