Maha oppn boycotts customary tea party on monsoon session eve

The Congress-NCP in Maharashtra Sunday decided to boycott the customary tea party organised by the BJP-Shiv Sena government on the eve of the Assembly's monsoon session, alleging the latter's claims of development were "virtual" and not on the ground.

Senior leaders from the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party addressed a press conference here Sunday and tore into claims by the Devendra Fadnavis government over developmental works.

Speaking at the interaction, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council and senior NCP leader, Dhananjay Munde, said the government's failed policies had led to the state facing its worst drought since 1972.

"During the Assembly session, we will demand that farmers be paid Rs 25,000 per care for sowing and cultivation. We will demand a complete loan and power bill waiver for farmers," he said.

"All the development under this government is only virtual, be it loan waivers, smart cities, reservation etc. Industries are shifting from Maharashtra to Gujarat," he alleged.

Munde said the removal of six ministers in Sunday's cabinet expansion proved that corruption allegations against them were correct.

He said removal was not enough, since the state government only has a four-month term from here on, and sought an FIR against Prakash Mehta, one of the ministers who quit Sunday, in what he claimed was a Rs 1200-crore FSI scam.

Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat said the government had neglected government staff, farmers and deprived classes and said it worked for just a handful of people.

He said there was no BJP wave in the state, unlike the Lok Sabha polls, and predicted a rout for the Fadnavis government in the Assembly polls scheduled later this year.

Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar said issues related to drought could not be solved sitting in "AC cabins" and claimed only 17 per cent farmers had received crop insurance while this number was 18 per cent in case of farm loan waiver.

He dubbed Maharashtra as the "hub of farmer suicides" and said the state government was responsible for this dubious tag.