Congress Targets Centre, State Over Farm Policies, Expressway Project

Mumbai: Maharashtra Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal on Saturday announced a protest march from Kalamnuri to Hingoli on March 9 against the proposed Shaktipeeth Expressway and the BJP’s “anti-farmer” policies. The party alleged that the project amounts to a forced land grab that goes against farmers’ interests. It also criticised the trade agreement with the United States, claiming it would crash domestic crop prices, and accused the Narendra Modi-led government of deliberately undermining the rural employment scheme Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.

The announcement comes a day after the BJP-led Mahayuti government in Maharashtra announced a farm loan waiver of up to Rs two lakh for farmers with overdue crop loans as of September 30, 2025.

Senior Maharashtra Congress vice-president Mohan Joshi has been given responsibility for coordinating the march in Hingoli district. The party has asked all its legislators, MPs and office-bearers from the Marathwada region to participate in the protest, party sources said.

Mr. Joshi alleged that the Modi-led Central government’s policies were anti-farmer and that the proposed trade agreement with the United States would severely harm the agricultural sector. “Farmers who are already suffering due to natural and economic crises will face a major setback because of this trade deal,” he said.

In a statement, the Congress claimed that the Prime Minister had “surrendered” to the United States and that the agreement would prevent Indian agricultural produce from fetching fair prices. The party warned that the situation could worsen the agrarian crisis and potentially lead to an increase in farmer suicides.

The party also targeted the BJP-led Mahayuti government in Maharashtra, alleging that it was attempting to acquire agricultural land through the proposed expressway despite strong opposition from farmers. “Farmers are strongly opposing the project, but the government is ignoring their protests and using police force to push the project forward for the benefit of its favoured industrialist friends,” the statement said.

Announcing the agitation, the Congress said a padayatra led by Mr. Sapkal would be taken out from Kalamnuri to Hingoli on March 9 to protest against the expressway project and what it termed the BJP government’s “oppressive, unjust and anti-farmer policies.”

Speaking to this newspaper, Mr. Joshi said the march in Hingoli district would mark only the beginning of a wider agitation. Similar protests would be organised across the State, particularly in the Vidarbha and Marathwada regions, he added, alleging that policies of the State and Central governments were worsening the agrarian crisis.