Farmer selling kidney is disgrace to Maharashtra, says Shiv Sena (UBT) in Saamana

Shiv Sena UBT on Thursday launched a blistering attack on the Mahayuti government following reports of a debtridden farmer from Maharashtra allegedly selling his kidney in Cambodia to repay moneylenders reported news agency IANSThe party mouthpiece Saamana editorial titled The Disgrace of the Soil described the incident not just as a crime but as a stain on the conscience of a state that calls itself progressiveThe Thackeray camp by linking this tragedy to the upcoming municipal elections warned the Marathi Manoos that a government that cannot protect the physical integrity of its farmers cannot be trusted to protect the capital of the state Today it is a kidney tomorrow if these looters are not stopped they will put the entire state up for auction it claimed reported IANSThe editorial highlighted the harrowing case of Roshan Sadashiv Kude a farmer from Chandrapur in the Vidarbha region After suffering total crop failure on his fouracre plot and losing his cattle to disease Kude fell into a debt trap Despite selling half his land his tractor and household belongings he remained unable to meet the extortionate daily interest demands of Rs 10000 imposed by local moneylendersThe editorial noted with horror that it was the moneylender who allegedly advised and facilitated the farmerrsquos journey to Cambodia to sell his organ In the land of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj where farmers should be protected they are being auctioned piece by piece in foreign lands claimed the editorial reported IANSThe Thackeray camp has accused the state administration of being intoxicated by power while ignoring the rural crisis It pointed out that while the government is busy with event management and announcing preelection schemes Government Resolutions the agricultural backbone of the state is collapsing ldquoThe Deputy Chief Minister speaks of New Maharashtra but in this New Maharashtra a farmer has to cross international borders to sell his kidney to keep his family alive The administrative dacoity regarding municipal looting has now extended to the very bodies of the poorrdquo it alleged reported IANSShiv Sena UBT slams police administrationThe editorial slammed the police administration saying that had it taken the action against the four money lenders who have now been under arrest in time the farmerrsquos life could not have been devastated At the national level farmers are reeling under a debt burden of a whopping Rs 12 lakh crore of which farmers from Maharashtra are bearing the burden of Rs eight lakh crore It is so ironic that the Centre which writes off the debt of industries is not giving muchneeded relief to farmers by providing a crop loan waiver which is forcing the farmers to commit suicideAccording to the editorial Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had given a promise of crop loan waiver before the state Assembly elections but now he has forgotten it after assuming powerThe Thackeray camp has demanded an immediate and merciless action against the moneylenders and the international syndicate involved in the kidney racketIt has called for a highlevel probe into the international organ trafficking links between Maharashtra and Cambodia a debt waiver and an immediate audit of private moneylending practices in Vidarbha and Marathwada The Uddhav Thackerayled Shiv Sena has demanded the resignation of the Agriculture Minister over this failure of the statersquos safety netWith inputs from IANS