Maharashtra farmers give BJP government three days to act

Mumbai city news: Farmers in the state, drowning in debt, have been demanding that their loans be waived, as prices of agricultural produce drop

Farmers in Maharashtra have given the state government three days to meet their demands of a loan waiver for all farmers and have threatened to block railway lines and hold protest marches.

HT

The Kisan Kranti Morcha, the organisation steering the agitation, said it has given the BJP government a three-day ultimatum to announce a loan waiver for all farmers in the state. Last week, chief minster Devendra Fadnavis said the state will waive the loans of small farmers — but the announcement left many sections of protesting farmers unhappy.

Farmers in the state, drowning in debt, have been demanding that their loans be waived, as prices of agricultural produce drop.

A 21-member core committee of farmers’ outfits met in Nashik on Thursday and decided that farmers across will block railway tracks on June 13, stop ministers from holding functions or programmes and march to tehsil offices across the state if their demands are not met by the deadline.

MP Raju Shetti, an ally of the BJP government in the state, said the state had cheated the farmers and the time had come to seriously fight for their rights.

The committee’s announcement comes a day after a Solapur farmer committed suicide outside his home, and left behind a note saying his body should not be cremated until the CM meets the farmers’ demands.