By IANS
Nagpur : A Shiv Sena march demanding cancellation of loans for farmers received a shot in the arm Friday with veteran politician Mohan Dharia joining it in support of the distressed farmers of Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region.
The former Planning Commission deputy chairman joined the march at Kondhali, about 40 km from here. The marchers are scheduled to reach Nagpur Sunday on the eve of the start of the state legislature’s winter session.
The march began from the neighbouring Amravati district’s Gurukunj Mozri area Tuesday under the leadership of Shiv Sena legislator Diwaka Raote. It will be received at Nagpur by Republican Party of India (RPI) leaders Jogendra Kawade and Ramdas Athavale.
Noted Marathi litterateur Ram Shewalkar and thespian Ramesh Deo are slated to join the march. Shiv Sena working president Uddhav Thackeray will lead it to the legislature in Nagpur, the second capital of the state.
Before leaving for Nagpur Thursday, Dharia told reporters in Pune that he had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar besides United Progressive Alliance chief Sonia Gandhi on the issue of loan waiver.
“The government, which is spending Rs.1,650 billion on urban renewal and has also granted income tax exemption worth Rs.500 billion to industrialists, should not flinch from waiving a much smaller amount of loans on poor farmers owning less than five acres,” Dharia said.
Dharia, a Young Turk in the late Indira Gandhi’s cabinet, said he was joining the march because the farmers’ cause was bigger than party politics. The 85-year-old had undertaken a hunger strike in Pune last year demanding waiver of farm loans.