Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena government for farmers’ suicides in the State. Mr. Pawar along with former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan was canvassing for the Congress-NCP candidate from Mumbai North Urmila Matondkar at a public meeting at MHB Colony in Borivali.
“Between 2017 and 2019, 12,000 farmers have committed suicide, but our Prime Minister has not paid heed to that. Choose wisely or else this will continue for the next five years,” he said. Hundreds turned up for the meeting on the last day of campaigning. Mr. Chavan urged people not to worry about development, but about freedom of expression. “Whether it is the Mumbai Metro, the Sea Link or the Monorail, it is Congress that started working on these projects,” he said.
Ms. Matondkar lashed out at the sitting Member of Parliament Gopal Shetty at his statements about farmer suicides. “Instead of addressing issues like water, housing and electricity, he (Gopal Shetty) chose to make outrageous statements such as ‘farmer suicides had become a regular fashion’ and how he does not require Maharashtrian votes,” the actor-turned-politician said.
