No Union minister has visited flood-affected areas of Maharashtra: Cong leader Chennithala

Pune, Sep 27 (PTI) No Union minister has visited the flood-affected regions of Maharashtra so far despite farmers suffering immense losses due to crop damage, senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala said here on Saturday.

Several parts of the state, especially Marathwada, have witnessed very heavy rains and flooding since September 20, resulting in crop damage on thousands of hectares of land.

Chennithala, the All India Congress Committee in-charge of Maharashtra, was here for a meeting during which several issues were discussed, including floods in the state.

"A meeting was held regarding the local body elections, for which we have begun preparations. We also discussed the flood situation in Marathwada. Farmers have suffered huge losses. They should get proper assistance," he said.

"The Devendra Fadnavis government has not provided any help so far. Neither the Chief Minister nor other ministers are speaking about this. The CM met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought assistance. However, no Union minister has visited the state. The government is not stepping forward to help farmers," he told reporters.

Chennithala further asked if the PM, who is scheduled to visit Maharashtra on October 8-9, will tour the flood-affected areas.

Speaking about "vote theft", he said it first happened in Maharashtra but the Election Commission of India (ECI) has not given any response.

"The same took place in Haryana. Rahul Gandhi raised questions but the ECI gave no answers. The Election Commission should remain impartial but it is fully helping the BJP," Chennithala alleged.

The Congress will be filing a petition with the ECI regarding VVPATs, Chennithala added. PTI COR BNM