'Don't take people lightly. People know everything.'
The Maharashtra Budget tabled on Monday has triggered a fresh political showdown within the Pawar family, with Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar MLA Rohit Pawar slamming his uncle, Finance Minister Ajit Pawar's proposals, which were tabled on the floor of the Maharashtra assembly as hollow and misleading.
Rohit Pawar, the MLA from Karjat-Jamkhed, expressed disappointment over the lack of a farm loan waiver, which he claimed was a major poll promise of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi.
"During elections, they had said we'll give you a farm loan waiver. But nothing has come of it," Rohit Pawar told this correspondent, accusing the government of failing to stand by farmers.
Rohit, the grandson of Sharad Pawar's brother Appasaheb Pawar, specifically highlighted several missing promises in the budget.
"They had talked about a price stabilisation fund of Rs 25,000 crore. They had promised to increase the financial assistance under the Mukhyamantri Majhi Laadki Baahin Yojana (a women's welfare scheme that brought a resounding electoral victory to the Mahayuti alliance) from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,100. They had also spoken about a monthly stipend for unemployed youth. But none of these have materialised in the Budget."
"The finance minister and the Mahayuti government didn't have any answers," he pointed out.
Slamming the finance minister's speech, he alleged that it was short on numbers and heavy on rhetoric and emotion. "Numbers were used very sparingly. More words, fewer figures. They were playing with numbers and words. They are not concrete about development funds," he argued.
He also accused the government of repackaging old projects instead of announcing new initiatives.
"For example, they are still talking about the international airport, which is already happening. Samruddhi Mahamarg is already done, yet they are talking about it. That means they have nothing new to offer. They are just bragging about old projects."
Sending a direct message to his uncle Ajit Pawar and the ruling coalition, Rohit Pawar warned that people would not be taken for granted. "Don't take people lightly. People know everything. To a large extent, you have made fools of them. You used their votes just to come to power, he said.
Declaring an all-out battle against the government, Rohit Pawar promised an aggressive stance in the assembly and on the streets. "We'll fight in the legislature. We'll fight on the road. We'll fight in front of the media. And we'll keep fighting," he asserted.
The political confrontation between the two Pawars represents the larger split in Maharashtra's political landscape, with the once-unified NCP now divided between Sharad Pawar loyalists and those who joined Ajit Pawar's faction.
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