MUMBAI: The Opposition on Wednesday unanimously decided to boycott the customary meeting convened by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on the eve of the Monsoon Session of the Maharashtra Legislature, beginning on June 27.
They announced the boycott in protest against the Maharashtra government’s alleged anti-farmer policies; its inability to provide them financial assistance; failure to curb deteriorating law and order situation and the flight of industries from the state.
The Opposition parties comprising Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP(SP), Samajwadi Party and Peasants and Workers Party claimed that the state government was anti-farmer, anti-people, anti-development and had lost the trust and confidence of the citizens.
Therefore, they turned down CM Shinde's invitation for Wednesday’s customary tea meeting.
The Opposition accused the Mahayuti government of introducing Manusmriti in the curriculum and blamed the present establishment for the burgeoning corruption and commission culture for awarding contracts for development projects.
The decision to boycott the tea party was taken at a meeting held at the resident of Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar.
It was attended by leader of Opposition in the state council Ambadas Danve, Congress Legislature Party leader Balasaheb Thorat, former home minister Anil Deshmukh, former housing minister Jitendra Awhad, former minister Satej Patil, Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi.
Wadettiwar demanded that the state government immediately announce a crop loan waiver on the lines of the Telangana government to help the farmers who are in distress due to damage caused to their crops by natural calamities and fall in the prices of soybean, cotton and other agriculture produce.
He also said that the Opposition would demand tabling of a law to curb paper leaks with a provision for strict punishment to the culprits.
Danve accused the Mahayuti government of pitting various communities against each other on the reservation issue.
He was referring to the ongoing protests by pro-Maratha and pro-OBC reservation activists across the state and also the fresh demand by the Dhangar community to provide it a quota.
Danve alleged that Maharashtra was no more a favoured investment destination due to corruption and red tapism which is leading to a rapid rise in unemployment.
He questioned why industries were going out of Maharashtra to other BJP-ruled states.
Wadettiwar and Danve said that the voters have taught a lesson to the Mahayuti comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP in the General Elections as they voted against the misuse of central probe agencies against Opposition leaders and also the BJP’s move to topple the Maha Vikas Aghadi government and for engineering a split in the Shiv Sena and NCP.