Maharashtra Congress to hold protest to highlight ‘farmers’ plight’ on March 3

Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee President Harshvardhan Sapkal said a State-wide protest to raise farmers’ issues will be held on March 3
| Photo Credit: @harshsapkal

The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee President Harshvardhan Sapkal said on Tuesday (February 25, 2025) that a State-wide protest to raise farmers’ issues will be held on March 3, the first day of the Maharashtra Assembly’s budget session. On March 4, the opposition will also stage a protest in municipal areas to raise development issues, Mr. Sapkal was speaking at a press conference in Mumbai.

The plight of farmers in Maharashtra under the BJP-led government has become increasingly dire, with no guarantee of fair prices for agricultural produce, said Mr. Sapkal.

“Despite promises of farm loan waivers during elections, the BJP-Shiv Sena government are yet to fulfill their commitment, which has led the Congress to announce a State-wide agitation on March 3, the first day of the Maharashtra Assembly’s budget session. Urban development projects and essential public services are also stalled in the State; to raise these concerns, the Congress party will stage protests in municipal areas on March 4 to highlight the administration’s failures,” he said.

Congress revamp

On Tuesday (February 25, 2025), the party held a meeting of State Congress leaders at Tilak Bhavan, Mumbai, where discussions centered on pressing public grievances and the party’s upcoming protests. The party will also hold Sadbhavana Padyatra in Beed district on March 8 and 9 to address the division and hatred that has spread in society and to restore social harmony and brotherhood and revive the party’s presence in Maharashtra.

The march will begin from Massajog village, which is in the news for the gruesome murder of village head Santosh Deshmukh. The meeting on Tuesday also discussed strengthening the Congress party as an organisation across the State. 

Mr. Sapkal lashed out at the BJP government, calling the party an anti-farmer and pro-corporate organisation. “Farmers are being forced to sell soybean at ₹4,000 per quintal, significantly below the minimum support price (MSP), and crops such as onion, gram, and cotton have also been affected by low prices.

The Central Government’s decision to import toor dal from Australia will harm domestic farmers by reducing market prices. Given the deteriorating conditions for farmers, the Congress party will hold protests at district headquarters across Maharashtra to pressure the government into taking immediate action on pressing issues,” he said.

Maharashtra has not held local body elections for three years, leading to a governance vacuum in municipal corporations and local councils, Mr. Sapkal said and alleged that the BJP is deliberately delaying elections to retain control over the administration. While Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is centralising all the power in his hands, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is doing the same at the national level, he alleged.

“As a result, local representatives do not have decision-making authority, and municipal administration has come under the influence of ministers and MLAs, leading to rampant mismanagement that has resulted in potholes and unfinished infrastructure projects across the State. Revenue department officials are organising illegal parties at private resorts while governance remains in disarray. Public services have come to a standstill, and the inaction of the administration has left people so frustrated that a young man even attempted suicide at Mantralaya,” Mr. Sapkal stated. 

On the approval granted for personal assistants (PAs) and officers on special duty (OSDs) in the CM’s office, Mr. Sapkal said, “While the Chief Minister granted a clean chit to 106 individuals for appointments as ministers’ PAs and PSs, 16 individuals were denied appointments on the grounds that they were ‘fixers.’” We demand that the Chief Minister publicly disclose the names of these 16 fixers, as well as the names of the ministers they worked under, because merely targeting officials will not suffice.”