Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde Announces 100 Tonnes Of Foodgrains For Farmers At Shiv Sena Dussehra Rally, Targets Uddhav Thackeray

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena president Eknath Shinde on Tuesday announced that 100 tonnes of foodgrains had been dispatched to drought-affected farmers as an advance Diwali gift, taking a swipe at political rivals by asserting that his party believed in ground-level work rather than speeches.

Dussehra Rally Dedicated To Farmers

Addressing the Shiv Sena’s Dussehra rally at the Nesco Centre in Goregaon, held to mark 60 years since the party’s formation, Shinde dedicated the event to distressed farmers and promised further rounds of assistance.

“We will not answer Uddhav Thackeray through words, but through our work. We will not just give bhashan (speeches), but ration (foodgrains) to farmers facing distress during these difficult days,” Shinde said.

Farmers Have First Right Over Treasury

He appealed to party workers and office-bearers to extend all possible help to affected farmers, asserting that the farming community had the first right over the state’s treasury. He recalled the extensive damage to agricultural land, crops and cattle caused by excessive rainfall last year and said the government was providing financial assistance covering different categories of losses.

Shinde clarified that the Rs 5,000 assistance announced by the Devendra Fadnavis-led government before Diwali was only an initial relief amount and not the final compensation. He added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had reviewed the drought situation and assured support to Maharashtra’s farmers.

25,000 Bicycles For Disadvantaged Girls

The Deputy Chief Minister also announced that the Shiv Sena had started distributing 25,000 bicycles to economically disadvantaged girl students and would organise mass marriage ceremonies for farmers’ daughters and girls from poor families.

Shinde accused opposition parties of politicising farmers’ distress instead of providing practical assistance. He also targeted Uddhav Thackeray over the 2019 political realignment and the change of government in 2022, when Shinde led a rebellion that split the undivided Shiv Sena.

Shinde Defends Electoral Roll Revision

Defending the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, he questioned the opposition’s criticism of the Election Commission and challenged allegations of electronic voting machine manipulation, asking how opposition candidates had won elections if the machines were faulty.

Responding to calls for regime change, Shinde said, “This is Hindustan, not Bangladesh, Nepal or Sri Lanka,” asserting that the elected government could not be toppled through political rhetoric.

He accused opposition leaders of invoking the Constitution without following the ideals of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and rejected claims of an undeclared Emergency, pointing to the freedom enjoyed by citizens and the media.

Shinde also praised Modi over the abrogation of Article 370 and the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, while alleging that opposition leaders targeted the Prime Minister and Amit Shah to remain in the headlines.

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