Terming the farm package announced by the Fadnavis government the “biggest joke”, the former chief minister said farmers were handed a “tarbuj” (watermelon). It was a clear reference to Mr. Fadnavis’s body shape
Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray once again resorted to body shaming Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. Terming the farm package announced by the Fadnavis government the “biggest joke”, the former chief minister said farmers were handed a “tarbuj” (watermelon). It was a clear reference to Mr. Fadnavis’s body shape. During his visit to the rain-affected Marathwada region on Saturday, Mr. Thackeray criticised the “inadequate relief” offered to flood affected farmers and demanded complete loan waiver as well as Rs one lakh as immediate relief to every affected farmer before Diwali.
Earlier in this week, the Devendra Fadnavis led Mahayuti government announced a Rs 31,628 crore relief package for over 60 lakh farmers affected by heavy rain and floods, which destroyed 68.7 lakh hectares of kharif crop across the state. Mr Fadnavis had claimed that this is the largest relief package ever awarded to farmers in the state’s history, while his deputy Eknath Shinde also supported him stating that the relief package was larger than that awarded in Punjab, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. However, the opposition has alleged that the government is misguiding farmers by making false claims. It has demanded complete loan waiver.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led party organised a ‘Hambarada Morcha’ (outcry march) in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. The Morcha was attended by all the senior leaders, MPs and party legislators including Sanjay Raut and Aditya Thackeray.
Addressing the farmers, the Sena (UBT) chief also asked whether the package announced by the government was acceptable and should they not get Rs 50,000 package per hectare. “This is not the biggest package of the history but it is the biggest lie of the Devendra Fadnavis government,” the former chief minister claimed.
Slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not speaking about the farmers’ situations during his two days tour to Maharashtra, Mr. Thackeray asked if he was not aware about the situations in the state.
Taking a dig at Mr. Fadnavis, he said, “Farmers are saying the generous king has given them tarbuj.” It was the term used by him for the Maharashtra CM several times in the past also.
Referring to Mr. Fadnavis’s announcement that the government is paying Rs three lakh under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme to farmers whose soil has eroded, the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief said the government should deposit RS one lakh in every farmers’ bank account before Diwali. He also announced that he will hold a state-wide tour to meet farmers after Dilwali.
Responding to Mr. Thackeray’s criticism, Mr. Fadnavis advised him to look in the mirror. “If he does that, he will realise that he has no right to hold such rallies. He is only trying to salvage his political career by doing politics on farmers’ plight,” the Maharashtra CM said.
