Maharashtra drought: Supriya Sule seeks Rs 1 lakh per hectare for affected farmers

NCP SP leader Supriya Sule on Thursday demanded financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh per hectare for farmers affected by the Maharashtra drought and urged the state government to release pending aid under its welfare schemesSpeaking to PTI Sule said party chief Sharad Pawar had written to the government seeking relief for farmers affected by the Maharashtra droughtldquoOur intention is not to engage in hollow politics We have maintained an attitude of cooperation because this is a time when humanity mattersrdquo she saidThe Baramati MP said farmers were facing severe difficulties due to drought and rising inflation and called for financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh per hectare She also urged banks not to harass farmers and called for employmentguaranteed works to be initiatedReferring to the Namo Kisan scheme and the Maharashtra governmentrsquos farmer assistance schemes Sule said cultivators were entitled to annual assistance from both the Centre and the state She alleged that a portion of the statersquos contribution remained unpaid PTI reportedThe state government has declared drought in 305 of Maharashtrarsquos 358 talukas Last week Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that an initial relief amount of Rs 5000 would be deposited directly into farmersrsquo bank accounts ahead of DiwaliSule calls for caution over election irregularitiesAsked about alleged irregularities in the state legislative council elections for Graduatesrsquo and Teachersrsquo constituencies and a purported meeting at the Pune District Central Cooperative Bank Sule said she would examine the available material before commentingldquoI do not want to get into allegations and counterallegations against anyone My point is that there is a system and the country should function according to that systemrdquo the NCP SP working president saidSule responds to Jarangersquos Rs 500 crore allegationAsked about Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarangersquos allegations against the BJP and Shiv Sena concerning an audio clip and an alleged payment of Rs 500 crore to him Sule said she had not personally seen the video or understood the contextldquoWhenever an allegation is levelled it is appropriate to respond to it But I have not personally seen the video or understood the context in which it was made We should speak responsiblyrdquo she saidSule condemns targeting of Priyanka Gandhirsquos sonReacting to the alleged targeting of photographs of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadrarsquos son Raihan Sule said he should be recognised as a photographer in his own right rather than viewed only as the son of a political leaderldquoWhy do you look at him only as Priyanka Gandhirsquos son Why not see him as a talented Indian photographerrdquo she askedldquoIf you want to fight politically fight us But it is wrong to target our children because of their parentsrdquo she said condemning the incidentSule also said everyone had the right to express an opinion in a democracy responding to predictions of a possible ldquoregime changerdquo in the government within the next few months PTI reportedWith PTI inputs