In the run-up to the October 21 assembly elections, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday blamed NCP supremo and former Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and his policies for farmer suicides in the state.
Speaking at a rally in Akot tehsil in Akola district in Vidarbha region, Fadnavis termed the issue as Pawar's "sin".
"Farmer suicides are the sin of Sharad Pawar and his government in Maharashtra. It started and increased during your regime," Fadnavis alleged.
Hitting out at Pawar, the chief minister said, "Pawar is talking about farmer suicides in his rallies in Vidarbha. I want to ask him, who was in power in Maharashtra when farmers started committing suicides."