Devendra Fadnavis says finance secretary will study how the northern state fulfilled promise.

Mumbai: After being cornered by the Opposition over the farmers’ loan waver issue and being labelled “unconcerned” about farmer suicides in the state, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis seems to have taken a cue from Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who has waived off loans of his state’s farmers.

Mr Fadnavis informed the Maharashtra Assembly on Wednesday that his government is working on a plan to help the state’s beleaguered farmers. Mr Fadnavis also said, “I have asked our finance secretary to study how the UP government has fulfilled its promise and how it is going to raise the money. We are also working on other schemes and options that could help farmers in the long term.”

When Assembly had resumed on Wednesday morning, Shiv Sena members raised the issue with Sena MLA Shambhuraje Desai demanding a complete loan waiver to farmers along the lines of the UP waiver. He also referred to the Madras high court decision asking the Tamil Nadu government to write off the loans of all farmers. BJP MLA Sanjay Kute then rose and defended his party, terming it sensitive towards farmers.

All these days, Mr Fadnavis has smartly skirted the issue saying the state government does not have enough money to waive off the farmer loan, but he was cornered after the newly elected UP CM waived off loans totalling Rs 36,359 crore.

Referring to the Madras high court order, Mr Fadnavis said, “Our government is capable enough of taking the decision. We do not need any such directives. We are working on the issue. We will take a decision that will help farmers in the long term.”

It may be recalled that the chief minister and his colleagues in the government had been of the view that a loan waiver isn’t a final solution to the farmers’ problems. A BJP minister had even gone on record to claim that waiving off loans would benefit banks rather than farmers. The government had claimed that it was working on providing farmers with better benefits in terms of irrigation and getting rid of their problems, which would help farmers avoid having to take loans. However, all these views seem to have vanished.

Meanwhile, the BJP’s partner in the state government, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray demanded a complete loan waiver for the state’s farmers. “If Yogi Adityanath could do this in his first Cabinet meeting, then why not the Maharashtra government? Today farmers are neck-deep in the financial crisis. The government should stand for them,” said Mr Thackeray.

Opposition parties, which have been aggressive on the loan waiver issue from day one of the ongoing budget session, got a shot in arm with Adityanath’s announcement. “If poor state like Uttar Pradesh could take such a decision, why is the Maharashtra government so reluctant to help farmers?” asked Opposition Leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil.