Issues of farmers, women rock the Houses

MUMBAI: In a show of strength as the sole Opposition party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday shut down the work in both the Houses of the state legislature over the issue of farmers and rising incidents of violence against women on the second day of the budget session. Amid repeated adjournments, both the houses could effectively work only for minutes.

Soon after the house proceedings began in the morning, the BJP demanded a debate on these two issues. Leader of Opposition in the lower house Devendra Fadnavis said the adjournment motion moved by his party be admitted and a debate be held, keeping the routine business aside.

“When they were in the Opposition, the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) had demanded a relief of ₹25,000-₹50,000 per hectare for farmers hit by unseasonal rain. This has not been implemented. Instead, the MVA government has given a loan waiver, which, going by the pace of the government, will take 460 months to reach all eligible farmers,” Fadnavis said.

Assembly speaker Nana Patole, while turning down the adjournment motion, said the Opposition can raise these issues using different parliamentary tools. The Opposition legislators, however, continued with their demand and entered the well, shouting slogans against the government. Women BJP legislators even approached the chair of the speaker, condemning the government for atrocities against women. The pandemonium continued even after two adjournments, leading the speaker to rush through the business and finally adjourn the House for the day.

The legislative Council, too, was adjourned twice in a span of one hour since it began at 12 noon on Tuesday, and effectively worked only for 10 to 12 minutes over these issues. Leader of Opposition Praveen Darekar demanded time to discuss the two issues, which chairman Ramraje

Naik Nimbalkar requested to be deferred.

The Opposition, led by Darekar, entered the well and started to chant slogans, tore some documents, banged desks, and did not allow the proceedings to continue. Within the first four minutes, the house was adjourned for 30 minutes. It resumed at 12.30pm, but worked for five minutes and was adjourned for another 20 minutes. It began proceedings at 1pm and was adjourned within four to five minutes. Darekar later told Hindustan Times, “I asked for permission to urgently discuss issues related to loan waiver for farmers. The list of eligible farmers published on Monday is not enough. The Opposition was not allowed to speak.”

Outside the state legislature, the party held a state-wide agitation at tehsil offices on these two issues, claiming to expose the ineffectual governance and how the Thackeray-led government had failed to deliver on its poll promises. The agitations were held at 355 tehsil and sub-tehsil offices, even as senior party leaders, including Fadnavis, state BJP president Chandrakant Patil and former minister Sudhir Mungantiwar held an agitation at Azad Maidan.

In the evening, a party contingent, led by Patil, met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and presented him with 55,000 letters written by farmers from Kolhapur, some in blood. “Over 1.5 lakh people, including farmers, women and party workers, participated in our protest. It was to register our opposition to the state’s loan waiver,” said Patil.

Congress leader and dairy development minister Sunil Kedar said, “The BJP’S protest over atrocities against women is like shedding crocodile’s tears. We are sensitive towards it and are taking all steps to reduce crimes against women. The number was higher during the BJP rule.”

A BJP CONTINGENT, LED BY PATIL, ALSO MET GOVERNOR BHAGAT SINGH KOSHYARI