Pawar meets Modi in Parliament, tells him about Maharashtra farmers' issues

NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament in New Delhi and apprised him about farmers' distress in Maharashtra and sought his urgent intervention in the wake of the crop damage and rising agrarian crisis in the state.

The meeting at the prime minister's chamber in Parliament comes amid uncertainty over the government formation in the Maharashtra where talks are on between the NCP, the Congress and the Shiv Sena for an alliance.

In a three-page memorandum, Pawar said in Nashik district crops like soyabean, paddy, finger millet, corns, bajra and vegetables like tomato and onion were at the harvesting stage but incessant and unseasonable rains completely ruined them.

He said 44 farmers from Nashik have committed suicide in the face of the crisis in the last 10 months.

In Nagpur, cotton crops over 35,000 hectares have been damaged due to unseasonal rains, Pawar said.

"Due to President's rule in the state, your urgent intervention is highly necessitated. I shall be grateful if you could take immediate steps to initiate massive relief measures to ameliorate distressed farmers," the memorandum said.

The duo is meeting two days after the prime minister praised the NCP lawmakers in Parliament over their decision against entering the Well during the proceedings.

NCP and Congress leaders will meet in the evening to discuss how to partner with the Shiv Sena, a long-term BJP ally that recently ended its alliance with the ruling party over a power tussle in Maharashtra.

When asked about the government formation in Maharashtra, the NCP chief refused to comment.