NAGPUR, 6 December 2005 — The entire state government machinery has moved in here on the eve of the winter session of the Maharashtra state legislature beginning here tommorrow. Nearly all the ministers and bureaucrats have arrived for the session, not considered to be a stormy one.
As per past practice, opposition parties BJP and Shiv Sena, had boycotted the customary tea meeting of the chief minister which is held two days prior to the opening of the legislature session. The reasons cited by the oppositon parties for the boycott of the tea meeting was the failure of the state government to take measures to halt the large number of suicides of farmers.
Speaking to Arab News, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh admitted to the issue of farmers’ suicides for years and the negative attitude of the government and said that the suicides of farmers in such large numbers did reflect badly on the image of a progressive state like Maharashtra, and promised that the government would soon come out with a comprehensive bailout package.
Anticipating the aggressive posture of the opposition parties to corner the government on the farmers’ suicide issue, the Democratic Front government appears to have decided to go on the defensive. More than 1,200 farmers have committd suicide since 2001 and a majority of them have done so due to severe indebtedness.
The major issues that would dominate the two weeks long sesssion of the legislature incdue power cuts, police transfers and unemployment. Also, there are 20 bills including motor vehicles reforms, private university, eradication of witchcraft and agriculture produce marketing committe.
The opposition attack would not have the usual sting with the defection of former Shiv Sena firebrand leader Narayn Rane, who joined the Congress and is now the revenue minister.
