- Ajit Pawar urged farmers to repay bank loans if possible and not await bailouts
- Maharashtra will decide on the farm loan waiver policy by June 30, 2026, Pawar reiterated
- Farmers in central Maharashtra face crop loss due to unprecedented rain in September
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has asked farmers to try to repay bank loans if they can, and not wait for a bailout every time. The comment came days after former MLA Bachchu Kadu led a massive protest for farm loan waiver and blocked a highway.
The Maharashtra government has said it would take a call on farm loan waiver by June 30, 2026.
“When a bank lends you money at zero per cent interest, develop the habit of repaying it on time,” Pawar told a gathering at Shri Someshwar Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana in Baramati.
The deputy chief minister who also holds the finance portfolio indicated he was disappointed with the same cycle of issues repeating constantly for farmers.
“The same freebies, the same waivers, the same solutions... Sharad Pawar waived loans once... Devendra Fadnavis waived loans once when Uddhav Thackeray and I were in the government,” Pawar said.
“Now, in the Mahayuti alliance, did we say we will waive off farm loans again because of elections… The waiver will anyway cost a few thousand crores of rupees,” he added.
The protesting MLA, Kadu, agreed to vacate the national highway and move to a nearby ground after talks with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday.
The Bombay High Court also ordered the protesters to leave the site, and ministers Pankaj Bhoyar and Ashish Jaiswal subsequently held discussions with them.
Before the talks began, Fadnavis had asked Kadu to discuss farmers' issues with the government directly instead of holding protests, which creates problems for the public and a chance for vested interests to exploit it.
“... Our priority at present is to help farmers who have suffered losses due to heavy rain. We have never said we are against farm loan waiver,” the chief minister said.
Farmers, especially those in central Maharashtra, have suffered massive losses due to unprecedented rain in September.
