Maha: ZP member plans march against 'anti-farmer' policies

Yavatmal Zila Parishad (ZP) member Devanand Pawar has planned a protest march to the residence of Maharashtra revenue minister Sanjay Rathod against the "anti-farmer" policies of the state government.
The agitation would begin from Azad Maidan here at 1 pm tomorrow, in which thousands of distressed farmers from across the district would participate, a release from Lok Jagruti Manch, an organization headed by Pawar, stated.
"The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance came to power with the votes of the poor farmers, as the leaders of the parties lured them with hollow assurances. On getting power, they betrayed the farmers and started anti-farmer policies and programmes. It is deplorable," Pawar said.

"District guardian minister Sanjay Rathod made hollow promises of solving the problems faced by the farmers in the district. He is squarely responsible for the exclusion of eight out of the 16 tehsils of the district from the annual Annewari survey, by the district administration," he said.
The major demands charted out by the protesters are - inclusion of the eight tehsils in the list of 'drought-hit tehsils', financial assistance of Rs 25,000 and not Rs 6,800 as announced, fulfilment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assurance of fixing Minimum Support Price (MSP) of agricultural produce at 50 per cent profit plus production cost, total waiver of loan dues of the farmers, discontinuing load shedding and waiver of farmers' outstanding energy bill amount, 90 per cent subsidy to the farmers for drip irrigation purpose, ex-gratia aid of Rs 5 lakh to the families of farmers who committed suicide, setting up an agriculture training centre at Yavatmal.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena district president Santosh Dhawle has filed a police complaint and sought action to be taken against Pawar under section 306 (Abetment of suicide) of the IPC. He has alleged that Pawar is instigating the farmers to commit suicide.

The police have served a notice to Pawar under section 149 (Every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object) of the IPC and have denied him permission to take out the march to the minister's residence, in view of a possible law and order problem.
Pawar, in his statement before the police, today said that the planned march is symbolic. He added that he would submit a memorandum citing his demands to Rathod, and seek permission from President Pranab Mukherjee for a voluntary death agitation (ichha maran andolan).

Later, Pawar, in another press release, alleged that Santosh Dhawale is a close associate of Sanjay Rathod and that the former has filed the police complaint to stall the agitation at the behest of the latter.