‘Maharashtra farmers can’t survive on empty promises’

Mumbai: The Shiv Sena on Friday once again criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government over the farm crisis and said that the farmers cannot survive on the government’s “empty promises”.

“It is shameful that Maharashtra has become the number one state in farmers’ suicide. In the last 11 months, 855 suicides have taken place in Marathwada and 743 farmers ended their lives in Vidarbha. The government’s own statistics show that more than 11,000 farmers have committed suicide in the state in the last four years. Farmers are feeling cheated by the government,” the editorial published in Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana on Friday said.

The Sena has also adv-ised the BJP to take not-e of the farmers’ anger, which was evident in the party defeat in Mad-hya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh polls, and take curative acti-ons. The editorial also claimed that Sena is not doing any politics over farmers’ suicides and the issue should not be used by anyone for political gains.

Accusing the BJP of putting too many conditions to avail the loan waiver scheme announ-ced for farmers, the editorial claimed that far-mers are feeling cheated by the scheme. “Inst-ead of making them free of loans, the farmers have found themselves trapped in the web of conditions of the loan waiver sche-me,” it said.

Squarely blaming the government for farmers deaths, the Shiv Se-na has asked the government to keep aside the politics now and pr-epare a comprehensive policy to stop farmer’s suicides on a war footing.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led party, despite being part of the BJP led governments at the Centre and in the state, has been leaving no opportunity to target the main ruling party.