With Maharashtra’s farmers in dire straits following unseasonal rains and the crisis over crashed prices of onions, Agriculture Minister and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena leader Abdul Sattar sparked a controversy with his remark that “there is nothing new in farmers ending their lives” and that “such incidents have been happening for many years”.
Mr. Sattar made this comment on March 12 while speaking to reporters during his inspection of crop losses in his constituency Sillod in the State’s Aurangabad district.
When asked by reporters about the recent deaths of two farmers in Sillod, Mr. Sattar said: “The issue of farmers taking their lives is not new. Such incidents have been happening for many years now. Farmers anywhere in Maharashtra should not be resorting to the extreme step.”
Saying that the State government had taken numerous initiatives for farmers, Mr. Sattar observed that crop insurance had been made available for farmers at just one rupee.
The Agriculture Minister’s statement triggered furious protests by the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on Monday, with MVA leaders decrying Mr. Sattar’s “insensitivity” and the apathy of the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government towards farmers.
Leader of Opposition and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar condemned the Minister’s alleged “ridiculing” of farmers’ woes.
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State Congress chief Nana Patole demanded that Mr. Sattar must be asked to apologise to farmers.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction leader Bhaskar Jadhav said that Mr. Sattar was no stranger to controversy and was known for making such insensitive remarks.
“It is high time that CM Shinde put a stop to his [Mr. Sattar’s] remarks. The fact that no one pulls Sattar up is evidence that the ruling government is completely indifferent towards farmers,” Mr. Jadhav said.
Mr. Sattar has been repeatedly in the news for the wrong reasons since last year.
Soon after the formation of the new Shinde-Fadnavis government in June last year, Mr. Sattar found himself in hot water after the names of two of his daughters appeared among the list of candidates debarred by the Maharashtra State Council of Exams (MSCE) for their involvement in the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) scam.
The TET scam unfolded in December 2021, when it was revealed that thousands of candidates had had their marks inflated while some secured fake certificates by paying cash. In August 2022, the MSCE released a list which said that 7,880 candidates were found by a police investigation to be involved in tampering with the results despite failing the exams. The names of Mr. Sattar’s daughters were found on this list.
In October 2022, Mr. Sattar dubbed Uddhav Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray as “Chhota Pappu”, and sarcastically asked Beed District Collector Radhabinod Sharma if he “drank alcohol”’ during a field visit.
Then in November, Mr. Sattar’s unparliamentary language against Nationalist Congress Party leader and Baramati MP Supriya Sule triggered State-wide protests not just by the NCP but condemnation across the social and political spectrum, including leaders in the ruling Shinde group.
Later, the MVA had demanded Mr. Sattar’s resignation over the allotment of a plot of government land worth ₹150 crore to a private person in Washim district.
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