Uddhav Thackeray chairs first cabinet meet; assures concrete farm aid
Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday night chaired the maiden meeting of his cabinet which sanctioned Rs 20 crore for conservation of the Raigad Fort as he promised concrete assistance for farmers after reviewing existing schemes instead of any piecemeal aid.
Thackeray, sworn in the CM here hours earlier, chaired the first meeting of his cabinet at Sahyadri Guest House in south Mumbai.
He said the first decision of the cabinet was to approve a sum of Rs 20 crore for conserving the Raigad Fort, which was the capital of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the 17th century.
Addressing his first press conference after taking over as CM, Thackeray said he has asked the chief secretary to review all existing government schemes for farmers to understand how much they have actually helped the community.
"We can paint a better picture if we know the reality.
We have sought inputs. Farmers have not got anything, but only assurances. We want to provide concrete help to farmers," he said after the meeting.
"I have asked the chief secretary to provide a realistic picture about the number of schemes aimed at helping farmers and how much they have benefited them.
"Once I get the real picture, we will be able to come up with solution," Thackeray said.
The CM said he is not looking at piecemeal approach to resolve issues related to cultivators, who suffered crop losses in unseasonal rains in October.
"I don't want to provide any negligible assistance but whatever we will do, it will be a grand and satisfactory provision for farmers," Thackeray said.
"So far farmers have been given false promises and they have not benefited actually. I have seen farmers were given certificates of loan waiver but they did not benefit in reality," he said, said hitting out at the erstwhile Devendra Fadnavis government which had announced a mega farm loan waiver in June 2017.
"Even the crop insurance scheme has failed to address farmer issues. The Sena has taken their issues to the streets.
We want to provide some meaningful help to farmers," said Thackeray, who is also president of the Sena, a key member of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, the governing coalition also comprising the Congress and the NCP.
"We want to ensure an atmosphere in the state wherein nobody will feel terrorised," he said.
Before the swearing-in ceremony, the three parties unveiled their common minimum programme (CMP), which will guide the three-party government.
Former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed his disappointment over the programme, saying it does not talk about other parts of the state such as north Maharashtra and Marathwada.
Asked about it, Thackeray said, "The cabinet is of entire Maharashtra and the person who is making such comment was chief minister for five years. A cabinet is not of a particular region, but it represents the entire state."
"He should study and tell us to which region our cabinet belongs to," Thackeray said sarcastically.
Elaborating on the first decision taken by the cabinet related to conservation of the Raigad Fort, he said, "The total cost of the project is Rs 606 crore of which Rs 20 crore was disbursed by the previous government.
"I am happy the first decision in my cabinet was sanctioning (Rs 20 crore) for the second round of the ongoing work."
At the media briefing, Thackeray was accompanied by his cabinet colleagues Chhagan Bhujbal, Jayant Patil, Nitin Raut and Balasaheb Thorat.
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Deputy CM Shivakumar urges discipline amid Cong MLAs' Delhi visit, seeks report
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Bengaluru (PTI):Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Monday urged Congress legislators to maintain party discipline amid their visits to New Delhi to lobby for a cabinet reshuffle, cautioning against making public statements that could harm the party’s image.
Addressing reporters here, Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress president, said there was nothing wrong in MLAs meeting the party high command but stressed that the timing and manner of their demands were important.
“Yes, all of them have gone. The Chief Minister has said something, but all of them should maintain discipline. Everyone must maintain party discipline. They must respect the party. They should not sit before the media and damage the party’s name,” Shivakumar said.
He added that everyone’s future lies in the party, not in the media.
"In the media, you may say whatever you want in your own way. So I appeal to all my MLAs that meeting party high command is not wrong, but if unnecessary statements are made, we will have to act.”
Responding to a query on whether MLAs had consulted him before leaving for Delhi, Shivakumar said some had approached him and were told there was nothing wrong in aspiring for ministerial positions.
“Some of them came and spoke to me, they asked me. I told them there is nothing wrong in going and asking (for ministerial position); it is not that you should not become ministers, nor that first-timers should not become ministers. First-timers can become ministers, second-timers can also become ministers—it has happened before,” he said.
However, he emphasised that the present moment was not appropriate for such demands.
“So we said there is nothing wrong, but this is not the time.”
The Deputy Chief Minister also indicated that he is awaiting formal inputs before taking any action. “Officially, I have asked for a report with various sections. Let me get the report, then I will act on it,” he said.
The remarks come a day after several senior Congress MLAs travelled to New Delhi to seek a cabinet reshuffle and press for ministerial berths, while first-time legislators have also stepped up their demand for representation.
On Sunday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had said there was nothing wrong in aspirant legislators visiting Delhi, adding that the decision on cabinet reshuffle rests with the party high command and may have been delayed due to elections in five states and the Budget session.
The developments assume significance amid ongoing discussions within the ruling Congress over a possible cabinet rejig as the government has crossed the halfway mark of its tenure.
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