BJP, its allies cheated their way into power in Maharashtra, have left state in shambles: Congress

'The statue of Shivaji Maharaj in the Arabian Sea that the PM laid the foundation stone for seven years ago is illustrative of his governance style: seven years later, it has been silently abandoned by his government,' alleged Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh.

New Delhi: The Congress on Monday alleged that the BJP and its allies first 'cheated their way' into power in Maharashtra and have since left the state in shambles, asking how much did the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi cost.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of his rally in Maharashtra's Chandrapur. "The BJP and its allies first cheated their way into power and have since left the state in shambles. The statue of Shivaji Maharaj in the Arabian Sea that the PM laid the foundation stone for seven years ago is illustrative of his governance style: seven years later, it has been silently abandoned by his government," Ramesh said.

"What hope can the common person have from a man who has given 'jumlas' even to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj?" he said in a post on X.

Ramesh said farmers in Maharashtra have had an incredibly challenging year and in November, the state government declared that 60 per cent of rural Maharashtra faced drought conditions last year.

"Between March and September, more than 16 lakh hectares of agricultural land was affected by unseasonal rains in the kharif season. Then, over 60% of districts suffered major damage to the rabi crop due to hailstorms and unseasonal rains in November and February," he said.

Despite all of these hardships, farmers received no assistance from the government and haven't received their insurance compensation either, he said.

"In 2014, the PM had promised farmers in Yavatmal District he would give MSP at 1.5x the cost of production, in accordance with the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations. Why has the PM forgotten this promise?" the Congress leader said.

In its 2024 Nyay Patra, the Congress has committed to a legal guarantee for MSP, as recommended by the Swaminathan Commission, a loan waiver for farmers, and a mandatory transfer of all insurance payments for crop loss within 30 days, he pointed out.

What is the BJP's vision to support Maharashtra’s farmers, he asked.

Ramesh stressed, "According to the Government’s own data from the NCRB, two youths in Maharashtra commit suicide every day because of unemployment – even as 2.5 lakh jobs are vacant across the state.To make matters worse, paper leaks have plagued almost every competitive exam conducted under CM Eknath Shinde’s government."

Ramesh pointed out that in the latest case, hundreds of PhD holders boycotted the common entrance test (CET) after finding that exam papers were not properly sealed. This exam had already been cancelled once in late December when the question paper turned out to be the same as the 2019 SET exam, he said.

"The BJP and its allies have been irresponsible and have left the futures of lakhs of honest students hanging in the balance. Why has the PM failed to create opportunities for Maharashtra’s youth?" he said.

Ramesh said that in its 2024 Nyay Patra, the Congress has guaranteed 'Paper Leak se Mukti' with new laws to prevent leaks from occurring in the first place.

"We’ve also guaranteed the filling of 30 lakh vacancies at the central level, and a new Right to Apprenticeship Act to provide 1 year of employment to every graduate below the age of 25. What is the BJP doing to ensure the prosperity and security of young India?" he added.

Ramesh said Maharashtra’s 2022 political crisis showed the nation that the BJP's greed for power is much greater than its regard for democratic values.

"They did not hesitate to use their ill-gotten Electoral Bonds chanda to buy Shiv Sena MLAs, and have destroyed Maharashtra’s political culture in the process. We now know that the Electoral Bonds Scam cost Indian citizens Rs. 4 lakh crore— the question is how much did the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi cost?" the Congress general secretary said and asked the prime minister to break his 'silence' on these issues.