Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis lost his cool and lashed out at the Opposition when it asked him to furnish details of Rs 18,000 crore, which he had claimed was spent on drought relief. Meanwhile, the Opposition staged walked out twice to protest against the chief minister and relief and rehabilitation minister Eknath Khadse.
Disappointed by Mr Khadse’s reply on drought, Congress and Nationalist Congress Party legislators tried to corner him. Mr Khadse targeted the Congress-NCP regime and said that despite it giving a loan waiver of Rs 70,000 crore, farmer suicides did not stop. He further said that Congress-NCP had done nothing for farmers and BJP-Shiv Sena government took way more decisions in their favour. He also said that number of farmers who had committed suicide were much higher during the time of the previous government.
Congress and NCP members, shouting slogans against the government, gathered in the Well in front of speaker, and later walked out of the House.
When the House reassembled, Mr Fadnavis started to counter the Opposition. In an attempt to expose the failures of Congress-NCP regime, Mr Fadnavis said, “During Congress-NCP regime, they didn’t spent more than Rs 6,000 crore for farmers in the drought-hit areas. However, this government has disbursed Rs 18,000 crore for their relief.
Objecting to Mr Fadnavis, senior NCP legislator Jayant Patil asked to furnish details of the relief amount. Mr Patil said that, as not a single rupee came in the account of farmers, the chief minister should clarify whether the Rs 18,000 crore was spent. He also asked the chief minister if he was claiming that his government spent a huge amount, why had farmer suicides not ceased
The chief minister, angered with Mr Patil’s demand, attacked Congress-NCP members, threatening to “expose” the previous government. The CM asked, “Who duped State Cooperative Bank Who duped Nanded, Nagpur, Osmanabad and other district banks Who favoured particular industries by Rs 50,000 crore ” Mr Fadnavis also said that the highest number of farmer suicides were seen in 2012 when the Congress and NCP were in power.
It was seen that when the CM lost his temper and lashed out at the Opposition, a number of BJP members gathered near his seat to support him.
Mr Fadnavis’ claims shook up the Opposition and, once again, it gathered at the Well and shouted slogans against the government. Later, it walked out for the second time. Meanwhile, Speaker Haribhau Bagade adjourned the House three times.
Finally when normalcy resumed, NCP’s Jayant Patil asked the CM why he had shed his cool demeanour. The CM had no answer except a smile.
