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By:

Abhijit Mulye

21 August 2024 at 11:29:11 am

Fadnavis writes off Rs 48,000 crore

Mumbai: In a clear indication that the Maharashtra government is leaving no stone unturned to keep the state’s agrarian base happy, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has unleashed yet another massive populist measure. Hot on the heels of relaxing the eligibility criteria to ensure a blanket farm loan waiver, the Chief Minister announced a sweeping Rs 48,000 crore waiver on the pending electricity bills of farmers across the state. Addressing a ‘Krutadnyata Sohala’ (gratitude ceremony)...

Fadnavis writes off Rs 48,000 crore

Mumbai: In a clear indication that the Maharashtra government is leaving no stone unturned to keep the state’s agrarian base happy, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has unleashed yet another massive populist measure. Hot on the heels of relaxing the eligibility criteria to ensure a blanket farm loan waiver, the Chief Minister announced a sweeping Rs 48,000 crore waiver on the pending electricity bills of farmers across the state. Addressing a ‘Krutadnyata Sohala’ (gratitude ceremony) organized by the BJP Kisan Morcha at Mumbai’s Yashwantrao Chavan Pratishthan on Wednesday, Fadnavis declared that farmers using agricultural pumps of up to 7.5 horsepower will see their historical electricity dues completely wiped out. The announcement was met with the traditional sounding of the Tutari and thunderous applause from hundreds of farmers who had gathered from every corner of the state. The Chief Minister framed the mega-sop as a necessary step to “wipe the farmers’ slate clean,” enabling them to write a new chapter of prosperity. Calculated Pitch The timing and scale of the announcement underscore a government that is boldly embracing populist economics to solidify its political footprint in rural Maharashtra. While Fadnavis maintained that these decisions were taken purely in the interest of the farmers—pointing out that the original loan waiver was announced when no elections were in sight—the political undertones were unmistakable. Taking a sharp dig at the opposition, the Chief Minister accused rival parties of running “political shops” in the name of farmer agitations without understanding the government’s genuine intent. Asserting his grassroots connection, Fadnavis proudly claimed, “I do not make decisions sitting in my house. I am a farmer myself, a man of the soil.” He openly defended the government’s recent move to strip away the stringent conditions attached to the blanket farm loan waiver, signaling that his administration will not hesitate to clear bureaucratic hurdles if it means putting money directly into the hands of the rural voter. Balancing Sops Even as he rained freebies, the Chief Minister attempted to balance the populist optics with a dose of economic pragmatism. He acknowledged that handing out repeated loan waivers is a symptom of deep-rooted agrarian distress, not a permanent cure. Pointing to the Rs 95,000 crore in aid currently being pumped into the agricultural sector by the state and central governments, Fadnavis outlined his administration’s shift toward an investment-driven agricultural model. He championed the success of schemes like ‘Jalyukt Shivar’ and ‘Magel Tyala Shettale’ (farm ponds on demand), claiming these initiatives have already empowered farmers to harvest multiple crops a year. Addressing the core issue of farming costs, he noted that the government already subsidises power to the tune of Rs 25,000 crore annually. By coupling this with a push for solar pumps and solar agricultural feeders, he promised that 100 percent of the state’s farmers would receive uninterrupted daytime electricity by the end of the year. Infra Dream Looking beyond immediate financial relief, the Chief Minister laid out a grandiose vision to permanently drought-proof Maharashtra’s most vulnerable regions. A staggering Rs 6 lakh crore infrastructure pipeline is being planned to ensure the next generation never witnesses a drought. Fadnavis detailed ambitious river-linking projects, including the Wainganga-Nalganga link, to divert excess floodwaters to parched regions. The state plans to construct 24 new dams and raise the height of 16 existing ones to ensure not a single district in Vidarbha faces water scarcity. Furthermore, massive engineering feats are on the drawing board to divert 200 TMC of floodwater from Western Maharashtra to Marathwada, and lift 275 TMC of wasted water from the Ulhas basin to quench the thirst of North Maharashtra and Marathwada. By marrying immediate, massive debt relief with long-term infrastructure promises, the Fadnavis administration is aggressively cementing its pro-farmer narrative. As the Yashwantrao Chavan auditorium echoed with whistles and cheers, it became highly evident that the government’s strategy of pairing mega populist waivers with big-ticket rural dreams is striking a powerful chord with the state’s agrarian voters.

‘Ram Raksha Andolan’ to start from tomorrow

Mumbai: Besieged for past six years with allegations that he had abandoned ‘Hindutva’, Shiv Sena (UBT) President and ex-CM Uddhav Thackeray changed tack today to announce a state-wide agitation called ‘Ram Raksha Andolan’ (Protect Ram Crusade) from Sunday.


The move is intended to corner the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which is currently under fire from all over after alleged financial irregularities linked to devotees’ donations at the Lord Ram Temple in Ayodhya – inaugurated in January 2024 – surfaced recently.


Training guns on the BJP, Thackeray pointed out how the embezzlement of the worshippers’ donations in the temple coffers, now infamous as ‘daan-chori’, has hurt the sentiments of crores of devotees across India.


“A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been appointed and the probe is underway into the alleged misappropriation. This is an extremely serious matter and raises doubts over whether the holy temple’s collections are being diverted for political purposes,” said Thackeray grimly.


Against this backdrop, the ex-CM announced the ‘Ram Raksha Andolan’ which will kick off at the Maruti Temple near the erstwhile Kabutarkhana in Dadar west on July 5 (Sunday). He said the agitation will be conducted across Maharashtra and he would later visit Ayodhya.


“I appeal to all the devotees of Lord Ram to voluntarily converge at the venue. I urge people of Maharashtra and non-Maharashtrians also who greet each other in Lord Ram’s name to come and show their angst against the goings-on,” Thackeray said, flanked by party MP Sanjay Raut and other leaders.


Revoking Vajpayee

Alluding to the former PM Atal Behari Vajpayee’s famous quotes, “Ab Hindu maar nahi khayega’ (Now, Hindus will not suffer), Thackeray thundered: “Today, I am saying that ‘Ab Hindu maaf nahi karega’ (Now, Hindus will not forgive). Those who are looting temples will have to give answers to the Hindus”.


He recalled the time when the BJP had only two MPs in Lok Sabha (1984-1989) but later it adopted the Ram Mandir issue, exploited the nationwide religious movements and gained enormous political power in the subsequent elections in the country.


“However, today there is a blatant political dacoity taking place in the country, MPs and MLAs are being lured under the name of various ‘operations’. The issue now is whether the BJP is spearheading an ‘Operation Ram Mandir’. Theft is taking place though the media may not expose it. A robbery has also occurred at the Lord Ram Temple and some people speculate that the stolen money is allegedly being used to break up different political parties,” asserted Thackeray.


Sena Role

Tracing the role of the (undivided) Shiv Sena and its founder-patriarch, the late Balasaheb Thackeray, the SS (UBT) supremo said that the Shiv Sainiks had played a major role in the (Dec. 1992) agitation in Ayodhya, and its visuals are forever etched deeply in the peoples’ minds.


“The Hindus suffered massively during the subsequent incidents like attacks on the ‘kar-sevaks’, the Godhra train carnage (Feb. 2002), the communal conflagration in different parts of the country including Mumbai and the subsequent serial bomb blasts (March 1993), and others,” said Thackeray.


Unfortunately, today, the country is witnessing utter confusion and lack of accountability and it's time to hit at the ‘root cause’. Although the BJP built its political power base on the Lord Ram Temple issue, today the same Ram Mandir is being discussed for alleged corruption which is a matter of ‘deep concern’, he said.


Fresh bid to reclaim Hindutva
After Uddhav Thackeray snubbed the NDA to ally with the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance in Nov. 2019 and became the CM, the BJP has constantly fired darts at him for allegedly discarding ‘Hindutva’. However, the SS (UBT) chief lashed out at the BJP’s ‘divisive Hindutva’ over his own brand, “Mooh me Ram, Haath me Kaam”.

Many believe that the BJP’s shrill campaign may have contributed to the SS (UBT)’s slide, the MVA was dislodged from power in June 2022, Thackeray’s party suffered two devastating splits (June 2022 & June 2026); though MVA romped home in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, it was practically erased in the November 2024 Assembly elections.
Through the ‘Ram Raksha Andolan’, the saffron party hopes to galvanise its cadres and rebuild its cracked Hindutva image among the Hindu voters.

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