Ahead of Rahul Gandhi's visit: Congress slams Maharashtra govt over law & order, agrarian crisis

Mumbai: Setting the tone for Maharashtra assembly elections ahead of the visit of Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, the Congress on Wednesday hit out at the BJP-led Maha Yuti government, saying that it was negligent towards law and order and the agrarian crisis and only focus is on commission recovery.

Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Kharge, the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Congress President would be in Sangli on Thursday for unveiling the statue of late Congress leader Dr Patangrao Kadam.

"With an increase in incidents of murder, killings, robberies, and rapes, the law and order situation in the state has deteriorated significantly. The BJP-government was negligent towards law and order and only focus is on commission recovery,” said Ramesh Chennithala, the AICC general secretary in-charge of Maharashtra. 

“The BJP-led government has failed to maintain peace in the state. There is gross negligence towards law and order, while the government is focused solely on looting money by indulging in corruption,” he said. 

Chennithala was in Pune on Wednesday, where he held a review meeting of the party for Western Maharashtra districts of Pune, Satara, Solapur, and Kolhapur.

Chennithala further stated that although Pune is the IT capital, the city's traffic system has completely collapsed, making it extremely difficult to drive on the roads, which is affecting IT companies. 

“So far, a review of 120 constituencies has been completed. The program aims to strengthen the organization and to spread Congress's message to the public, as well as to inform them about the anti-people policies of the central and state governments. He expressed confidence that the people would support the MVA in the Assembly elections, just as they did in the Lok Sabha elections,” he said.

Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole said that the law and order situation in Pune has become extremely serious, with killings being carried out in broad daylight.

“The government and police administration have lost their grip. Postings for positions such as Police Commissioner, Deputy Commissioners of Police, senior police officers, and constables are being made in exchange for money. Even the appointment of Director General of Police Rashmi Shukla was done incorrectly. Incidents that tarnish the cultural heritage of Pune are occurring,” said Patole.

“A dire situation has arisen in the state. At the beginning of the monsoon, paddy and cotton crops were destroyed in East Vidarbha. Now, all crops in parts of Marathwada and Vidarbha have been wiped out. Despite urgent requests to the Chief Minister for immediate assistance to farmers and those affected by these losses, the Chief Minister only makes announcements, and no aid is actually reaching them,” he said.

The meeting was attended by  Leader of Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar, former Chief Ministers Sushilkumar Shinde and Prithviraj Chavan, Legislative Council group leader Satej Patil, Congress Working Committee member and State Working President Naseem Khan, MLA Sangram Thopte, MLA Ravindra Dhangekar, and NSUI State President Amir Sheikh, among others.