Sharad Pawar attacked the central government.
Kolhapur:
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar on Friday lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government over issues ranging from the imposition of export duty on onions to violence in Manipur and alleged misuse of central agencies against political opponents. Addressing a rally in Kolhapur, the home district of rebel NCP leader Hasan Musharraf, who joined the Eknath Shinde government on July 2, Pawar said onion farmers in the state were not getting fair price for their produce.
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Pawar said, “They should get the amount spent on growing the crop. If this is to happen, onions will have to be exported all over the world, but the Modi government has imposed a heavy duty of 40 percent and after that Indian onions are not getting customers. Due to which the price of onion has decreased.
Pawar said that as agriculture minister (in the Congress-led UPA government between 2004 and 2014), he never imposed export duty on onion and ensured that the crop was exported. Farmers and traders in Nashik are protesting against the Centre’s August 19 decision to impose 40 per cent export duty on onions from Monday to December 31. They claim that this will bring a glut of onion in the local market and bring down prices.
Pawar said two women were paraded naked amid the violence that broke out in Manipur (in early May), but those in power were not using it to protect them. He said that the investment coming to Maharashtra is going to Gujarat, due to which the employment opportunities of the youth here are ending.
Pawar cited the examples of his party colleagues Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh and Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut, alleging that “power is being used to suppress opponents”. These three leaders have gone to jail during investigation in various cases and are currently out on bail.