Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today said he was "ashamed" of the Opposition parties "belittling democracy and ridiculing farmers" in the garb of seeking justice for them.
"The behaviour of the Opposition parties during the Budget speech today has belittled democracy. They were openly making fun and laughing in the garb of seeking justice for farmers," Fadnavis told reporters here after the presentation of Budget.
"I am ashamed of their behaviour. It seemed that they had come to a park to play around. When they burnt copies of the Budget (referring to the Opposition members burning copies of the Budget in the Vidhan Bhavan premises), they indulged in a despicable act," said Fadnavis.
The chief minister added he himself spoke to Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and sought his party's cooperation in ensuring justice for farmers.
"I personally spoke to Uddhavji. We will be working together for the cause of farmers. And I am sure that the Centre too will help us. Once the Centre comes to a conclusion, the state government is ready to bear whatever is needed on its end to make farmers debt-free," he said.
Talking about the Budget, he said Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar has ensured that the Budget keeps farmers as the focal point.
"We have invested a lot in the agricultural sector and this is reflected in the growth rate which from negative has become positive and in two digits. Never has been such a growth seen in the last 13 years," Mungantiwar said.
Fadnavis said that all sections of the society have been given justice in the Budget and a record level of rural development has been achieved by his government.
"In the two years, we have built more toilets than what they (Congress-NCP) could build in 20 years. The maximum investment is being seen in Maharashtra. But, if we spend Rs 30,500 crore on loan waiver alone, we will not have enough money for agriculture sector. Thus, we had approached the Centre," he said.
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