Amid standoff with ally BJP over formation of the next government in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena on Friday demanded immediate relief for farmers affected by unseasonal rains in parts of the state. In an editorial in its mouthpiece "Saamana", the Uddhav Thackeray-led party said farmers who have suffered crop loss should be provided adequate compensationwithout attaching any conditions.
"The farmers in the state are awaiting immediate assistance and not a new government," the editorial said. It said farmers who were bearing the brunt of dry drought all these years are now facing wet drought as rains have continued despite end of monsoon over a fortnight ago.
The Marathi daily said adequate compensation should be given to affected agriculturists without considering any terms and conditions like whether the damage was caused by heavy rains or unseasonal showers. Due to the rains since the last one month, all expenditure done by cultivators on farming had been wasted, the Sena mouthpiece rued.
Taking a dig at senior ally, the BJP, the editorial said, "Instead of standing by farmers, efforts are focussed on garnering support for government formation. "Despite getting a mandate, there is still no new government in place," it said. The editorial, however, did not name the BJP, which has rejected the Sena's demand to split the chief minister's post for 2.5 years each. There is a caretaker government in place which is busy shoring up its numbers to stake claim to form the next dispensation, the paper said. -- PTI
Image: The farmers' protest at Azad Maidan in March 2018.