Youth Congress workers in Maharashtra today staged a protest against the BJP-Shiv Sena Government accusing them of turning a blind eye to the problems of farmers who are committing suicide in large numbers.
Scores of Maharashtra Pradesh Youth Congress (MPYC) workers gathered at Azad Maidan, South Mumbai, and raised slogans against the Fadnavis-led Government.
They demanded immediate measures for the uplift of farmers, especially in Marathwada which is reeling under drought-like situation.
"More than 2,000 farmers have committed suicide since this Government took charge (in October last year). But no concrete step has been taken so far to address their problems and the Government has turned a blind eye to their plight. We have gathered here to make Government wake up from slumber and pay attention to farmer problems," said Vishwajeet Kadam, President of MPYC.
"The insensitivity of this government can be gauged from the fact that its representatives not only declined to accept our memorandum highlighting plight of farmers, they also tried every bit to stall our protest," Kadam said.
The Congress leader claimed the financial assistance declared by the Government to help the farmers was insufficient to solve their woes.
The Government used police to suppress our voice and we dispersed after being lathi-charged, he alleged.
Kadam, who belongs to Pune, slammed the police action against the striking FTII students in the early hours of today, terming it as "barbaric and unnecessary".
"They are simply students, but they were treated like hardcore criminals. The students were evicted from the campus in a midnight raid and taken to police station," he said.
