Maharashtra govt imposed bandh on people by abusing official machinery: Devendra Fadnavis

Mumbai, Oct 11: Slamming the Maharashtra government over the bandh, the state BJP said that the ruling government's concern for farmers was "pure hypocrisy" while urging the ruling government to provide relief to those affected due to unseasonal rains in the state's Vidarbha and Marathwada regions.

"The bandh called by the Maha Vikas Aghadi is pure hypocrisy. If the government is really concerned about farmers, then it should declare immediate relief for farmers of Marathwada and Vidarbha," Fadnavis said. "People are being forced to observe the bandh using police and administration," Devendra Fadnavis said.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi government observed bandh to protest the Lakhimpur Kheri violence which killed eight, including farmers in Uttar Pradesh on 3 October. The former Maharashtra Chief Minister said that the UP government will take action against those guilty in the incident while pointing out that the farmers in Maharashtra are in deep distress.

He alleges that over 2,000 farmers have committed suicide in the state without getting loan waiver or any assistance from Uddhav Thackeray's government.

Hitting out at the Maharashtra government, state BJP president Chandrakant Patil said that the NCP was trying to divert the people's attention from the Income Tax raids on entities close to Deputy Chief Minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar.

He added that bandh did not get good support from the people

"The bandh in Maharashtra was opposed by farmers, students, traders and the people, but the government imposed it on people by abusing the government machinery," BJP MLA from Mumbai Ashish Shelar said.

The BJP leaders have accused that the government has forcefully imposed the bandh on the people, causing inconvenience to the people, especially farmers. BJP Trade Front president Pradeep Peshkar said the call for the statewide bandh by the MVA partners is akin to "rubbing salt on the wounds" of traders, who are still recovering from the losses suffered during the coronavirus-induced lockdown. With inputs from PTI