Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar will again meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to seek Central assistance for drought and rain-hit farmers of Maharashtra. The last time the two leaders had met, the subsequent change in guard in the State had set off speculation that the two had exchanged more than pleasantries.
State Finance Minister Jayant Patil on Thursday said he would request the NCP chief to visit the PM to seek Central assistance.
Maharashtra needs over ₹25,000 crore in help while ₹14,000 crore has already been sought from New Delhi, he said. The last time round, former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis sought help but it is yet to arrive, Mr. Patil said.
He presented his revised demands to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday. The Maharashtra delegation, which Mr. Patil led, had on Wednesday urged the Centre to contribute ₹14,000 crore towards the damage caused by natural calamities. “Today, I have requested the Centre to increase the assistance while the previous help remains pending when it was demanded by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) chief minister,” Mr. Patil said.
Mr. Pawar had met Mr. Modi in Parliament over farmers’ distress in Maharashtra on November 20. Following the meeting, his nephew Ajit Pawar had joined hands with the BJP and was sworn in as deputy chief minister in an overnight ceremony. He then resigned in less than 80 hours, resulting in the collapse of the BJP-NCP government.
The senior Pawar had later claimed Mr. Modi had suggested in their meeting that the BJP and NCP come together in Maharashtra and Pawar’s daughter be made a Cabinet minister at the Centre. “I had politely declined his offer,” Mr. Pawar had said.
Earlier, Mr. Patil warned of an imminent tax hike to shore up revenue on account of implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) regime in the State. The State government will be compelled to seek various remedies, including increasing general taxes, if the Central government does not pay the committed GST compensation at the earliest, he had said, following a consultation meeting for the Union Budget 2020-21 in New Delhi on Wednesday. The meeting, chaired by Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman, was followed by a discussion of GST Council.
