‘Will expose govt if loan waiver isn’t executed aptly’
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said his party would not shy away from “exposing” the BJP-led Maharashtra government if it fails to execute the loan waiver scheme properly.
Thackeray, whose party is also a part of the ruling coalition in the state, claimed his outfit was the first to demand debt waiver and rued that Maharashtra continues to top in farmer suicides.
“It was the Shiv Sena which first raised its voice for loan waiver for farmers, when Sharad Pawar was the Union agriculture minister.
“Maharashtra was on top in farmer suicides and unfortunately it is still at the top. This was not the area where our state should have been at the top,” he said in an interview to his party's mouthpiece 'Saamana'.
“Hence, the farmers should be debt-free was my demand,” he said.
“I have even asked the Shiv Sena workers to beat the drums outside the banks (as part of an agitation) and make them display the list of beneficiaries.
“We will not shy away from exposing the state government if it fails to execute the loan waiver scheme properly,” Thackeray said.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had on June 24 announced the loan waiver of Rs 34,022 crore after a statewide agitation by farmers earlier last month.
On July 9, Fadnavis said the entire debt of around 36 lakh farmers will be written-off under the scheme. Thackeray said, “I want to see the names of 36 lakh farmers whose entire loan is going to be waived, in the state Assembly.”
Fadnavis earlier said there are 1.34 crore farmers in Maharashtra, of whom 90 lakh have availed crop loan.