Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh.
Credit: PTI File Photo
New Delhi: The Congress on Sunday hit out at the ruling Mahayuti coalition in Maharashtra, saying it has been formed on "betrayal" and that the people of the state will not forgive them for their "failed" promises.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that farmers were the most neglected in the state as the grand promises made to them have yielded nothing.
He also highlighted how the promise of building a water grid from Marathwada to provide piped drinking water to every village was never fulfilled.
"The Mahayuti is a Government formed on betrayal - of loyalty, of ideology, and of Maharashtra people themselves. Farmers have been among the most neglected, strung along by the Government with grand promises that have yielded nothing," Ramesh alleged in a post on X.
"Those who promised Jalyukt Shivar have only delivered on Jalmukt Shivar. Maharashtra will not forgive them," the Congress leader said.
In 2019, he claimed, then Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis promised a Rs 20,000 to 25,000 crore package to build a water grid from Marathwada that would supply piped drinking water to every village.
"Summer this year marked five years of this promise - and it was one of the most water-scarce years that Marathwada has faced. More than 600 villages and 178 hamlets in Marathwada were dependent on water tankers amidst an acute drinking water shortage," he said.
Only 19 percent drinking water was left in reservoirs compared to 40 percent last year, the Congress leader claimed.
"The Godavari river, the lifeline of Marathwada, was also left throttled, with the 88 crores allegedly allocated to its cleaning in 2022 resulting in no meaningful improvement in water quality," Ramesh alleged.
The Congress attack on the ruling coalition of the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP came ahead of the November 20 assembly elections, where as part of the MVA, the Congress along with Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar's NCP, is seeking to wrest power from the Mahayuti alliance.
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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