Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government over various issues including the increased export tariff on onions, the unrest in Manipur, and the misuse of Central government agencies against political rivals.
He was speaking at a rally in Kolhapur, the home district of rebel NCP leader Hasan Mushrif who joined the Eknath Shinde government in Maharashtra last month. Pawar's rally here was his third in the home districts of rebel NCP leaders. Farmers need to recover the money spent on growing a crop and also get paid for their efforts. If that is to happen, onions have to be exported across the world. (But) The Modi government has imposed a steep (export) duty of 40 per cent, and now Indian onions do not get buyers (abroad). This led to a fall in onions prices (within India), Pawar said.
As agriculture minister (in the Congress-led UPA government between 2004 and 2014) he never imposed export duty on onions and always ensured that the crop was exported, he said.This government's policy is to come in the way of whatever farmers produce, Pawar alleged. Farmers and traders have been protesting since Monday in Nashik district of Maharashtra against the Centre's decision to impose a 40 per cent export duty on onions, which they claim will hinder exports and bring down the prices in the domestic markets.
Pawar also attacked the Narendra Modi government for bringing in contentious farm laws which were withdrawn after massive protests, and said no government has insulted farmers more than the present dispensation. Two women were paraded naked amid the violence that broke out in Manipur in May, but those who wield power did not use it to save them, he said. Investments meant for Maharashtra are going to Gujarat which is depriving the youth in Maharashtra of employment opportunities, Pawar claimed.