In Marathwada, Sonia talks of lifting waiver ceiling

Stating that she felt more farmers needed to get the benefit, including those from Vidarbha — which she avoided visiting — and Marathwada, Sonia said she had told the Centre that “proper steps be taken after considering the problems of farmers from different areas”. She hoped that both the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister will take necessary steps in this regard.

Sonia’s choice of venue for her first farmers’ rally in Maharashtra after the loan waiver was significant.

Located in the dust bowl of Marathwada, Osmanabad is one of the most backward of the eight districts of the region.

With two municipal corporations, barely 24 per cent population in urban areas, and a small industrial base, almost the entire workforce is dependent on agriculture. Marathwada, like Vidarbha, lacks irrigation facilities and accounts for farmer’s suicides.

There has been criticism that the UPA Government’s flagship loan waiver scheme will benefit few agriculturists in Vidarbha and Marathwada, as these regions have landholdings larger than the two hectare ceiling, forcing the state Government to demand that the waiver norms be reworked.

With the recent delimitation exercise converting Osmanabad into an open constituency for the Lok Sabha, and a reservation being imposed on neighbouring Latur, there are speculations that either Deshmukh or Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, who was also present at the rally, may chose to contest from here.

Marathwada is the stronghold of the Shiv Sena-BJP, and the saffron allies account for 24 out of the 46 Assembly and six out of the eight Lok Sabha seats, with the Congress having no MP here. Ally NCP has been stressing its role in the loan waiver, with party president and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar addressing a well attended farmers rally at Beed recently.

Sonia lauded Deshmukh on his home turf, signalling that the change of guard being speculated for long in the state may not take place in the near future, and attacked the Opposition and the anti-North Indian campaign initiated by Maharashtra Navanirman Sena president Raj Thackeray.

The coalition under Manmohan Singh has taken several “historic” decisions for the welfare of all sections of the society said Sonia, pointing to sops for women’s self-help groups, minorities, rural landless, SCs, STs and senior citizens in the Budget.

“Despite this work, the Opposition continues to make baseless allegations against us,” said Sonia. Criticising Raj Thackeray’s anti-North Indian campaign, Sonia said “every corner of Bharat Mata” was meant for all Indians and icons from Maharashtra had “staked their lives for it”.