It's winter of discontent as farm suicides dog DF govt
Apart from the proposed repeal of the Urban Land Ceiling and Regulation Act, farm suicides in Vidarbha and a demand for debt waiver for farmers are likely to dominate the proceedings.
By TNN |
MUMBAI: The Congress-led Democratic Front government would be facing a belligerent Opposition as it goes into the winter session of the state legislature beginning on November 19 in Nagpur.
Apart from the proposed repeal of the Urban Land Ceiling and Regulation Act (ULCRA), farm suicides in Vidarbha and a demand for debt waiver for farmers are likely to dominate the proceedings. The Shiv Sena, the main opposition party, has already launched a kapus dindi (cotton march) in the hinterland of Vidarbha which troops into Nagpur on Monday.
The Sena has upped the ante by demanding an unconditional loan-waiver for crisis-ridden farmers in Vidarbha, which its alliance partner BJP is also supportive of. Sena sources said the party would exploit the issue of agrarian crisis to the hilt all through the winter session to build up tempo for a public rally in Nagpur on December 2.
Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray is slated to address the public gathering. “We will keep the issue burning until the government concedes to our demand,” a Sena leader said. Sources said the Sena would be aggressive on other farm issues to deflect attention from the Ulcra issue.
“The Sena has already stated its opposition to Ulcra repeal. Agrarian crisis comes in handy for the Sena to divert the government’s attention from the Ulcra. If farm issues dominate the agenda, it will be quite difficult and politically incorrect for the government to insist on Ulcra repeal,” a senior minister said.
It’s not just the Opposition which is demanding a debt waiver for farmers. What would be more worrying for the government is the support it would elicit from some of the ruling party legislators, the sources added. “It’s easy for ministers to say debt waiver would aggravate the crisis. But we represent the farmers and we know, for sure, that a debt waiver would go a long way in alleviating the intensity of this crisis,” a Congress legislator from Vidarbha pointed out. He said the ruling party legislators would surely and subtly rally behind an Opposition move to this effect.
Apart from the proposed repeal of the Urban Land Ceiling and Regulation Act (ULCRA), farm suicides in Vidarbha and a demand for debt waiver for farmers are likely to dominate the proceedings. The Shiv Sena, the main opposition party, has already launched a kapus dindi (cotton march) in the hinterland of Vidarbha which troops into Nagpur on Monday.
The Sena has upped the ante by demanding an unconditional loan-waiver for crisis-ridden farmers in Vidarbha, which its alliance partner BJP is also supportive of. Sena sources said the party would exploit the issue of agrarian crisis to the hilt all through the winter session to build up tempo for a public rally in Nagpur on December 2.
Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray is slated to address the public gathering. “We will keep the issue burning until the government concedes to our demand,” a Sena leader said. Sources said the Sena would be aggressive on other farm issues to deflect attention from the Ulcra issue.
“The Sena has already stated its opposition to Ulcra repeal. Agrarian crisis comes in handy for the Sena to divert the government’s attention from the Ulcra. If farm issues dominate the agenda, it will be quite difficult and politically incorrect for the government to insist on Ulcra repeal,” a senior minister said.
It’s not just the Opposition which is demanding a debt waiver for farmers. What would be more worrying for the government is the support it would elicit from some of the ruling party legislators, the sources added. “It’s easy for ministers to say debt waiver would aggravate the crisis. But we represent the farmers and we know, for sure, that a debt waiver would go a long way in alleviating the intensity of this crisis,” a Congress legislator from Vidarbha pointed out. He said the ruling party legislators would surely and subtly rally behind an Opposition move to this effect.
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