Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council and NCP leader Dhananjay Munde on Sunday said the countdown had begun for the BJP-led State government to ‘rectify mistakes’ made during its tenure. His views were echoed by his counterpart in the Legislative Assembly, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil of the Congress, who said, “The effect of the mistakes made by this government in the last three-and-a-half years is being felt by the common people. This is the last chance for the government to rectify these mistakes.”
The leaders were addressing a joint press conference after a meeting of Opposition parties to decide the agenda for the Assembly budget session, beginning on Monday. The budget will be presented on March 9. Among issues to be highlighted were farmers’ problems, and unemployment.
Calling Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis the defaulter of the public, the Opposition said the government’s farm loan waiver scheme has not benefited farmers at all, and nearly 2,000 farmers have committed suicide since. “A look at the government’s statistics shows that as of February 7, only 19.24 lakh farmers have benefited from the farm loan waiver scheme, and only ₹12,368 crore have been disbursed,” Mr. Vikhe-Patil said. The Opposition will demand relief of ₹50,000 per hectare for farmers affected by hailstorms earlier this month. It will also seek to know why the government waited for four years before increasing the Minimum Support Price.
