Opposition parties and farmers’ organisations slammed state Agriculture Minister and NCP leader Manikrao Kokate on Saturday over his yet another controversial statement asking farmers what do they do with money given to them as farm loan waiver and accused them of spending it on weddings.
“Manikrao Kokate should extend an unconditional apology at the earliest. This Mahayuti government has failed to deliver on its promise of farm loan waiver and now the minister is asking farmers what will they do with the money? Does Kokate have the courage to ask this question to corporates whom this government has given a loan waiver worth Rs 16 lakh crore,” asked Maharashtra Congress chief Harshvardhan Sapkal. He said Kokate must immediately extend an unconditional apology.
Speaking at his home district Nasik while interacting with farmers affected by unseasonal rain and hailstorms on Friday, Kokate said, “Farmers take loan and wait for five-ten years for loan waiver. The government will give money to farmers to invest in agriculture. This money is for water, irrigation and farm ponds. The government makes capital investments. What do you do with the money that you get from the farm loan waiver? Farmers say they want crop insurance money but spend it on weddings and engagements.”
Sapkal slammed him saying, “Is the government doing a favour by providing financial assistance to farmers? It is public money, not Kokate’s personal money.”
Opposition NCP-SP MLA Rohit Pawar said Kokate does not know that the money given under farm loan waiver scheme goes directly to banks and not to farmers. “Using this money is not as easy as robbing a flat by showing it to someone from a lower income group,” Pawar said in a dig at Kokate.
Kokate has been convicted by a local court in Nashik district in a 30-year-old cheating case for fabrication of documents to acquire two flats in Nashik under the then CM’s discretionary quota for economically weaker sections. The court has presently stayed the conviction.
Farmer organisations too slammed Kokate, saying the minister had compared farmers to beggars. “The minister is clueless about the plight of farmers who are faced with rising prices of raw material used in agriculture. Natural calamities further add to the woos of farmers. Farming is collapsing and the minister is making senseless statements making fun of farmers,” the statement issued by All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) said.
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Kokate had previously landed in trouble after he had compared farmers to beggars. “Even a beggar does not take Re 1, but here we are giving crop insurance for Re 1. Even then there are people who try to misuse it. There are irregularities, like people from other states applying,” he had said.
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