The Maharashtra government was left red-faced in the State Assembly on Wednesday when the Speaker had to cancel a calling attention motion as the Agriculture Minister was unaware of cotton crops being hit by pink bollworm infestation.
Officials of the Agriculture Department failed to brief Agriculture Minister Pandurang Fundkar on the raging problem for which 69 members of the Assembly had moved the calling attention motion and demanded a detailed discussion.
Speaker Haribhau Bagde announced postponement of the motion owing to lack of information of government officers on the issue. Members of the opposition immediately demanded an apology from the government and accused it of shielding private seed companies.
Nationalist Congress Party MLA Ajit Pawar said, “The issue is not new. How can the Minister not get an answer from his department? Has he completely lost hold or is he shielding someone?”
Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil said, “When the State is staring at a loss of ₹30,000 crore, the Agriculture Department’s claim to having no information is a shameful thing.”
