Cong's Chavan questions revision in Maha agri growth figures

Former Maharashtra chief minister and senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan raised doubts on the authenticity of figures quoted in the state's Economic Survey tabled in the legislature Monday. He said the agricultural growth rate had been revised by "almost 12 per cent" in connection with the 2017-18 fiscal, a change he dubbed as "drastic".

"As per the Economic Survey of 2017-18, the estimated agriculture development rate was minus 8.3 per cent. But in the Economic Survey report 2018-19, this has been revised to 3.4 per cent. It is impossible to have such a big change of almost 12 per cent. The government should show proof of such drastic changes," Chavan said. "In 2017-18, Kharif crop production had gone down 12 per cent, Rabi production reduced by 63 per cent. Then how come agriculture development rate was 3.4 per cent in 2017- 18," he questioned.

Chavan later told reporters that the BJP government was indulging into "political corruption" by "luring" Opposition leaders and making them ministers. He accused the chief minister of engineering defections in the Opposition ranks by hook or crook.

"This is nothing but political corruption. Corruption is not always about money. The Congress is deliberating about the need to amend anti-defection law," he said. Recently, senior leaders like Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil of Congress and Jaidutta Kshirsagar of the NCP quit their respective parties to become ministers in the Fadnavis cabinet.

When reminded that such defections had happened during the erstwhile UPA rule as well, Chavan said that that should not mean the situation continues like that. Former Shiv Sainik Narayan Rane was the Leader of Opposition when he quit and became a minister in the then government led by the Congress.

Another Sena stalwart Chhagan Bhujbal had quit the party to join the Congress in the early 1990s and became a minister.