While the BJP-led government promised that there would be a revaluation of the acquired land, the opposition Congress dubbed the death as a murder, and blamed a nexus of agents and officials for farmers' plight.
Dharma Patil, hailing from Dhule district, consumed a poisonous substance at the Maharashtra secretariat on January 22 to protest the low compensation offered by the government when his land was acquired for a solar power plant.
His son Narendra Patil today said, "I will not accept my father's body until the state government accepts our demands. I am not going to accept my father's body because we have been fighting against the injustice done to us."
Narendra had told reporters last week that his father got only Rs four lakh for his five acres of land. The octogenarian had been visiting the state administrative headquarters for the last three months to complain about the inadequate compensation but to no avail, he had said.
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State Congress chief Ashok Chavan today said, "The government is solely responsible for this death. It should be booked under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code.
"Dharma Patil could have got justice if the state had intervened immediately. It shows how we value our people. The government has no control over the administration," he said.
Another Congress leader and former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan demanded a judicial probe.
"Dharma Patil's family had refused to be a part of such a nexus, hence they were given very low compensation. This is a serious matter and I demand a judicial inquiry," he said.
Chavan also said the land was first acquired for a thermal power plant, but its economics could not be worked out. The state then decided to construct a solar power plant.
Leader of Opposition in Assembly and Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil echoed him. Vikhe Patil also alleged today that a state minister had purchased land in the same area after the process of acquisition began (so as to pocket hefty compensation).
As the death drew sharp reactions from Opposition, power minister Chandrashekhar Bavankule today assured the family that the government will reassess the land valuation.
In a letter to Narendra Patil, the minister said Dharma Patil had complained about low compensation for the land as well as for the fruit-bearing trees on it, and the value of both would be reassessed and the procedure would be completed in 30 days.
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