NCP asks Mumbai civic body to lend Rs30,000 crore to state government for farm loan waiver
The NCP’s demand is seen as an attempt to create a rift between the BJP and Sena
The Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Monday asked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to provide financial support to the state government for the Rs34,000-crore farm loan waiver. NCP leader and former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar demanded the BMC lend money to the state on market interest rates. He raised the demand during the congratulatory motion which was moved by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Shiv Sena members in the legislative Assembly to laud the loan waiver package.
The NCP’s demand is seen as an attempt to create a rift between the BJP and Sena.
Sena members maintained silence on the NCP’s demand. Fadnavis, who was in New Delhi to attend the oath taking ceremony of newly-elected President Ram Nath Kovind, is expected to reply to the debate on Wednesday.
Pawar sought Sena members’ support in passing a resolution in the Assembly for extending cutoff date to this year for the loan waiver. Sena legislator Subhash Sabne had demanded that the government extend the cut-off date to June 30, 2017 from June 30, 2016. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis last month announced the Rs34,022-crore loan waiver, which is likely to benefit 89 lakh farmers.
Earlier, the opposition members were up in arms against the congratulatory motion, saying that the loan waiver package was a sham and had numerous lapses. The opposition proposed an adjournment motion and demanded a debate on the agrarian crisis. “Farmers are feeling cheated as they can’t get the waiver amount in their accounts. By asking them to fill the forms, the government has shown distrust towards farmers in distress,” said Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, leader of the opposition in the Assembly.
The congratulatory motion was opposed by the opposition in the legislative council too. Leader of the opposition in the council Dhananjay Munde called it a joke.