Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Oct 16 Union minister Ramdas Athawale on Friday said the financial assistance of Rs 5,000 that the Maharashtra government plans to provide to drought-hit farmers before Diwali was not sufficient, and he would request Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to raise the amount.
The Minister of State for Social Justice also said that if the opposition parties want ballot papers to be used in elections instead of the electronic voting machines (EVMs), they should convince the Election Commission.
Athawale was addressing a press conference here before embarking on a tour of drought-hit villages in the district.
The Maharashtra government has declared 305 talukas in the state, out of the total 358, as drought-hit.
On Wednesday, CM Fadnavis announced that an initial relief of Rs 5,000 will be deposited directly into the farmers’ bank accounts ahead of Diwali. He said the decision was made to provide urgent support to the farmers before the festival, as complete administrative evaluations and central assessment procedures take time and cannot legally conclude before Diwali.
Talking about it, Athawale said, “As an initial measure, the government has announced an assistance of Rs 5,000. But this amount is not enough for Diwali. I will talk to the chief minister and convey to him the feelings of the people. I will see how the amount can be increased.”
“The central government teams have surveyed this (drought-hit) region, and they will submit their report. The Centre needs to help the people here and I will also make efforts for that. I have faith that the government will declare a good amount,” he said.
Referring to the ongoing agitations by the INDIA bloc and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) in Delhi, he said these protests were causing trouble to the residents of the national capital.
“Rahul Gandhi holds a responsible post of Leader of Opposition, and he needs to understand that there is a need for the opposition parties to take the country forward. Daily agitations spell trouble for the people of Delhi, and they are complaining. Protests should be held, but people should not be inconvenienced,” he added.
Talking about EVMs, the RPI (A) leader said, “The EVMs were introduced under the Rajiv Gandhi government, and they were not brought into use by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. These machines were good when they (opponents) won in Karnataka. At that time, we did not complain about them. But they don’t say anything (about EVMs) when they win and come to power.”
If they want ballot papers to be used in elections, they should convince the Election Commission, Athawale said.
Speaking at a rally in Beed city later in the day, he said the welfare schemes of the NDA government had reached every Indian citizen without any discrimination based on caste or religion.
He credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s inclusive governance philosophy — ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ — for transforming grassroots delivery across the country.
“Our schemes do not look at caste or faith. Whether it is social welfare, food security, or healthcare, every eligible citizen has directly benefited from the Union government’s proactive interventions,” Athawale said.
Nearly 80 crore persons receive free food grains, he noted.
Families across Maharashtra are receiving cashless medical treatment of up to Rs 5 lakh under government health insurance schemes, including the expanded Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Jan Arogya Yojana (MJPJAY) integrated with the Ayushman Bharat framework, Athawale said.
The ruling coalition was committed to resolving the problem of water scarcity in the Marathwada region by undertaking comprehensive irrigation and river-linking projects, he said.
(PTI News)
