It again is on the verge of becoming a fine example of how tall claims and faulty promises result into a sheer nightmare. A report published in Indian National Congress suggests ‘Achche Din’ was just a gimmick. It says As the BJP government in Maharashtra completes one year, the growth figures have a sorry tale to tell. The report says that when Devendra Fadnavis came to power in Maharashtra last year, he promised he would usher in ‘inclusive growth’, make Maharashtra ‘the most developed state’ and ‘take care of farmers of the State.
The State GDP growth has fallen to 5.7% as compared to 7.3% in the final year of the Congress government. Manufacturing has fallen from 2.5% to 0.5%, it added.
Agriculture has been the most neglected sector under this government, proving Rahul Gandhi’s statement that the BJP is a Suit-Boot Ki Sarkar. This sector, which grew at 8% under the Congress regime, has recorded a negative growth of 12% under Shri Fadnavis. Except for Sugarcane, all major crops saw a sharp drop in production. Food grains fell from 146 lakh tons to 100 lakh tons, and the production of pulses almost halved to 18 lakh tons, from 32 lakh tons.
Gold Rate
09 April 2025
Even when production of crops like sugarcane increased, the farmers were unable to receive their dues from the sugar mills. Official records reveal that arrears of sugar mills in Maharashtra shot up from Rs. 962 crore to Rs. 15,593 crore – a jump of 1520% in the first year of Shri Fadnavis’s government.
Their apathy towards the farmers is very clearly seen in their cuts in MGNREGA. This is now reflected in Maharashtra government’s annual labor budget, which has been cut from Rs. 950 crore under the Congress to Rs. 564 crore in 2014-15.
The Fadnavis government should focus less on finding things to ban and should rather focus on the increasing number of farmer suicides. Farmer suicides have gone up from 665 in 2013 to 1250 in 2014. This year, it has already reached 1296, and the government seems to have decided that inaction is the best way to deal with the problem.
So, while the Shiv Sena is busy blackening the faces of RTI activists, Shri Fadnavis has been spending drought relief on sending a dance troupe to Bangkok.
The Maharashtra CM needs to realize that the lives of farmers and the agricultural sector, matter. People are facing difficulties because of the dramatic increase in the price of spices and pulses. But the government is not providing any solutions; and is simply feeding us platitudes, concluded the report.
