Opposition seeks demands from state govt to give immediate relief for farmers affected by unseasonal rains

Noisy scenes were witnessed in the Maharashtra Assembly with the opposition demanding that the state government give immediate relief to farmers whose crops were destroyed in unseasonal rains accompanied by hailstorms earlier this week.

The opposition members were on their feet when Speaker Rahul Narvekar rejected an adjournment notice submitted by the Congress’ Nana Patole (congress) on the issue. Narvekar said the issue will be taken up for debate on Friday and urged MLAs to allow Question Hour to continue.

But Patole was adamant and was supported by Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar, NCP MLA Chhagan Bhujbal and Congress’ Balasaheb Thorat. Bhujbal said nothing can be more important than providing relief to farmers and sought immediate discussion on it.

Opposition members shouted slogans in the Well of the House even as the Speaker continued with Question Hour. LoP Pawar said farmers were ending their lives in the constituency of agriculture minister Abdul Sattar (Sillod in Aurangabad) and asked what was the use of Question Hour if citizens in distress did not get relief.