Raju Shetti to take on Sena-led government over agrarian issues

MUMBAI: After snapping ties, Raju Shetti, chief of Swabhimani Shetkari Sangh (SSS), a farmer’s outfit has decided to take on the ruling Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition over issues to the agrarian community. Shetti said that he will approach the Bombay High Court (HC) demanding power supply for agricultural purposes to the farmers during the day.

He has decided to hold a state-wide tour to push various demands of the farmers.

Shetti had snapped ties with the three-party ruling coalition of Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress

Party (NCP), and Congress for not working on the common minimum programme on April 5. “Power is being generated with the help of natural resources such as coal, gas, water, etc. All have equal rights on natural resources but farmers are getting only eight hours of power supply and that too during the night. How come one expects a farmer to be on the farm at night for irrigation after working the entire day.”

“This is inhuman. I have decided to file public interest litigation (PIL) demanding power supply to the farmers during the day,” Shetti said.

From Saturday onwards, he also starting the ‘Baliraja

is

Hunkar Yatra’ from Palus in Sangli district, the birthplace of Maharashtra’s first chief minister Yashwantrao Chavan.

In the first leg, he will be covering districts of the western Maharashtra region. The yatra is expected to be concluded in three months.

“The objective of the yatra is to raise demands of the farmers such as providing power during the daytime, withdrawing fresh provisions brought by the MVA government under the land acquisition act, which are against farmers’ interest as well as asking the Central government to bring a law for minimum support price (MSP),” he said.