An all-party delegation of MPs and MLAs from Maharashtra, led by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, which met Singh was told by the Prime Minister to exercise fiscal discipline through proper use of allocations made by the Planning Commission, state leaders said.
Congress MP Vijay Darda said the Prime Minister told the delegation that Maharashtra "will have to be disciplined". Darda said he pointed out the problems in the Vidharba region which was witnessing suicide by farmers despite visits by the Prime Minister and Congress President Sonia Gandhi.
Rahul Gandhi, who had visited the drought-affected areas of Maharashtra last month, had just yesterday met the Prime Minister to seek relief measures for the area.
Deputy Leader of BJP in the Lok Sabha Gopinath Munde regretted that Maharashtra was not given any immediate assistance by the Centre to tackle the problem of scarcity of water, fodder and for providing employment inspite of the fact that the state was facing one of the worst droughts in years.
Munde told Singh that Maharashtra needed some immediate assistance and only providing funds for long-term plans will not help the situation.
Taking a dig at the ruling Congress, the Shiv Sena said had it been Mamata Banerjee, "she could have extracted Rs 2000 crore in two minutes."
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"The entire Maharashtra Cabinet led by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan could not secure even ten rupees from the Prime Minister despite spending 10 minutes with him. But if it was Mamata Banerjee, she could have extracted Rs 2000 crore in two minutes," Shiv Sena leader in the Rajya Sabha Sanjay Raut told reporters.
Banerjee's Trinamool Congress is a key ally of the Congress-led coalition at the Centre and has emerged as one of the most troublesome partners in recent times. MORE