Supriya Sule meets Agriculture Minister Chouhan, seeks special package for rain-hit Maharashtra

New Delhi, Sep 24 (PTI) NCP-SP working president Supriya Sule met Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday and sought a special package for the farmers of Maharashtra who have faced losses due to heavy rains in the state.

Sule apprised Chouhan of the situation in Maharashtra and said the soil from the fields has been washed away at many places, creating a risk of the land becoming unfit for cultivation.

"In this context, I made a strong demand to declare a wet drought in Maharashtra, to provide an economic package from the Centre for the farmers and grant them a complete loan waiver," she told reporters here.

Sule said she also asked Chouhan to extend loans at zero or low interest rates to farmers who are passing through a delicate phase.

Rains have wreaked havoc over the last few days in the usually-parched Marathwada region of central Maharashtra, leaving several towns and villages waterlogged and causing damage to houses and crops.

Sule said Chouhan assured her that he would speak with Home Minister Amit Shah and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis regarding the issue.

On the issue of reservations, the NCP-SP working president said the BJP-led Centre should seek a comprehensive bill from every state that is planning to introduce fresh quotas following demands from sections of the society.

"I have often said in Parliament that if any community, whether from Maharashtra or any other state, seeks reservation, the central government should seek a comprehensive bill from every state in this regard," she said.

Sule said she believes that the reservations promised by B R Ambedkar in the Constitution shall always remain within the framework of the document. PTI SKU RC