Rs 5,000 drought aid too little, will urge CM for more, says Athawale

• Athawale calls the Rs 5,000 initial relief inadequate and promises to urge Fadnavis to raise the amount.

• Maharashtra declares 305 of its 358 talukas drought-hit as farmers await further assistance.

• Union minister criticises Delhi protests and tells Opposition parties to approach the Election Commission on ballot papers.

Union minister Ramdas Athawale on Friday, 16 October said the Rs 5,000 financial assistance announced by the BJP-led Maharashtra government for drought-hit farmers ahead of Diwali was inadequate, and promised to urge chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to increase the amount.

Athawale, the minister of state for social justice, was addressing a press conference before embarking on a tour of drought-hit villages in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad) district.

Maharashtra has declared 305 of its 358 talukas drought-hit. On Wednesday, Fadnavis announced that an initial relief amount of Rs 5,000 would be deposited directly into farmers’ bank accounts before Diwali, citing the urgency of providing assistance ahead of the festival.

The chief minister said comprehensive administrative assessments and Central evaluation procedures would take time and could not be completed before Diwali.

Responding to the announcement, Athawale said, "As an initial measure, the government has announced an assistance of Rs 5,000. But this amount is not enough for Diwali. I will talk to the chief minister and convey to him the feelings of the people. I will see how the amount can be increased."

He said Central government teams had surveyed the drought-hit region and would submit their report, adding that the Centre needed to extend assistance to affected residents.

"The Central government teams have surveyed this (drought-hit) region, and they will submit their report. The Centre needs to help the people here and I will also make efforts for that. I have faith that the government will declare a good amount," he said.

Athawale also criticised the ongoing protests by the INDIA bloc and the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) in Delhi, saying they were inconveniencing residents of the national capital.

"Rahul Gandhi holds a responsible post of Leader of Opposition, and he needs to understand that there is a need for the Opposition parties to take the country forward. Daily agitations spell trouble for the people of Delhi, and they are complaining. Protests should be held, but people should not be inconvenienced," he said.

On the demand for replacing electronic voting machines (EVMs) with ballot papers, the Republican Party of India (Athawale) leader argued that EVMs had been introduced during the Rajiv Gandhi government and were not a creation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration.

"The EVMs were introduced under the Rajiv Gandhi government, and they were not brought into use by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. These machines were good when they (opponents) won in Karnataka. At that time, we did not complain about them. But they don't say anything (about EVMs) when they win and come to power," he said.

Athawale added that Opposition parties seeking a return to ballot papers should convince the Election Commission of India (ECI) to make the change.

With PTI inputs