Uddhav targets Eknath Shinde over farmer suicides

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday alleged that chief minister Eknath Shinde had not paid much attention to the farmers suffering from crop loss caused by excessive rains and instead left for Guwahati to fulfil a vow at Kamakhya temple in order to protect his government.Stepping out of the city after quite some time, Thackeray addressed a rally of farmers in Buldhana. Citing the case of a soyabean grower who was paid a meagre ₹33 by the crop insurance company as compensation, he claimed nearly 1,000 farmers had died by suicide since July 1 (after the Shinde-led government came to power). The former CM taunted Shinde over his recent meeting with an astrologer in Nashik district. “His future lies in the hands of those in Delhi. How can he rule us when he does not know his own future?”

Thackeray also played a video in which deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis was seen targeting the Sena leader when he was the CM and demanding a waiver on the farmers’ electricity bills. But soon after this rally on Saturday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader tweeted, “An order on waiver of pending bills was issued on November 22.” Thackeray did not even spare Governor BS Koshyari whom he has been targeting over the latter’s controversial remarks on King Shivaji for some time. “I have respect for the post, but I can’t respect what is there under your black cap. Don’t insult our idols. The Centre must recall the governor.”

Lashing out at the BJP, he said industries meant for Maharashtra were diverted to Gujarat to win the local polls there and now they could hand over Solapur and Akkalkot to Karnataka for winning the elections there next year. “Are we going to tolerate if we have to cross over to Karnataka to meet lord Vitthal of Pandharpur [in Solapur district] or Swami Samarth [in Akkalkot]?”