Mumbai: A video showing cashews and almonds being served at a government meeting in Nanded to review the drought-like situation in the Marathwada region has gone viral on social media, drawing criticism from the Opposition amid distress among farmers.
The Maharashtra Congress and the Shiv Sena (UBT) criticised the BJP-led Mahayuti government over the serving of dry fruits at the meeting. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said serving dry fruits at official meetings was a routine administrative practice, but added that such arrangements should be avoided when farmers were facing distress and that officials should be sensitive to the situation.
Agriculture Minister Dattatray Bharane held a review meeting on Saturday at the Nanded district collectorate to assess the drought-like situation in all eight districts of the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar revenue division. Minister of State for Water Supply and Sanitation Meghana Sakore-Bordikar, Lok Sabha members Sanjay Jadhav and Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, state legislator Pratap Patil Chikhalikar, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Agricultural University Vice-Chancellor Dr. Indra Mani and Agriculture Commissioner Suraj Mandhare, among others, attended the meeting.
Dry fruits were served as snacks during the meeting. Visuals showing the dry fruits being served and consumed by some of those attending were subsequently circulated on social media, raising questions over the timing of the arrangement as several parts of Maharashtra faced drought-like conditions.
Maharashtra Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal said the Mahayuti government lacked sensitivity towards farmers.
“Farmers are facing hardship, while the ministers are enjoying dry fruits at the meeting. The incident is disturbing,” Mr. Sapkal said, while demanding that the State government declare a drought.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushma Andhare said the incident had “rubbed salt on the wounds” of farmers. She said ministers would not understand the plight of farmers because only a person facing such hardship could understand their pain.
Mr. Jadhav, who recently shifted his allegiance to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), defended the serving of dry fruits at the meeting.
“There is nothing wrong with having dry fruits at the meeting. They were kept before MPs and legislators. We had not demanded that dry fruits be served. The media should ask the collector why they were served,” the Shiv Sena MP said.
Mr. Bharane sought to play down the controversy, saying he himself had not eaten the dry fruits.
Mr. Fadnavis said it would be incorrect to suggest that the administration had deliberately arranged the dry fruits because of the drought-like situation.
“The administration should take cognisance of the situation and also have sensitivity,” the Chief Minister said.
Mr. Fadnavis also said several districts were facing drought-like conditions because of deficient rainfall, with crops affected and yields expected to decline.
“The ministers have been directed to assess the situation in their respective districts, and preliminary assessments and crop damage panchnamas would be undertaken within a week to provide relief,” he said.
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