Mumbai: Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar accused the state government of playing politics over declaring drought. As many as 35 out of 40 talukas, where drought has been declared, are part of constituencies of the members of ruling parties, he said on Friday.
"It appears from the state government decision that they care more about the MLAs supporting them and less for the farmers who are reeling under drought conditions, since as many as 35 out of the 40 talukas where drought is declared belong to the ruling party MLAs. Some of them belong to ministers also," Wadettiwar said while lashing out at the government.
'Govt is trying to crush small farmers': Wadettiwar
"While major part of the state is suffering from the drought conditions, majority of the area that supported the opposition parties have been left without any help," the leader of opposition added while underlining the fact that only 4-5 talukas of the opposition members have been included in the list of drought affected areas declared by the state government.
"The government is playing politics while trying to crush the small farmers in the game of deciding criteria for declaring drought. This discrimination while declaring drought is saddening," he added.
Jat taluka missing from govt's list, says Wadettiwar
When asked to name such areas, the leader of opposition cited Jat in Sangli district. "Jat taluka had been perennially drought prone. Even today the water is being supplied with the help of tankers due to drought this year. However, the name is missing from the government's list of 40 drought-affected taluks," Wadettiwar said, adding that great injustice is being done with many more similar areas.
