22 May,2017 11:16 AM IST | Mumbai | Pallavi Smart
Sangli farmer - in Mumbai with ashes of 25 indebted ones who killed themselves - removed from room, detained by cops overnight
Vijay Jadhav is going to protest at Azad Maidan till Tuesday. Pic/Datta Kumbhar
Sangli farmer Vijay Jadhav came to Mumbai hoping to convince the state to waive the loans of indebted farmers with the ashes of 25 who killed themselves under crushing debt. But he was greeted with apathy. On Saturday, he was forcibly removed from his room at the MLA hostel and asked to spend the night at Marine Drive police station.
Jadhav has travelled over 2,500 km on a motorbike from Sakhrale village since May 6, visiting several leaders across the state on his way to the Mantralaya to voice farmers' problems. He reached Mumbai on Saturday night.
The tipping point
Jadhav decided to take on the fight against farmers' debt after being shaken by constant news of suicides, starting after he learnt of the suicide of Vilas Shitape, a farmer from Kodoli village near Kolhapur. He reached Shitape's house on May 2 requesting his kin to give him a portion of his ashes.
"I gathered started my journey on May 6. I reached Mumbai late Saturday. With the help of a friend in the Shiv Sena, I was allowed accommodation in the MLA hostel for the night," Jadhav told mid-day.
'Why call the cops?'
"In the night, the police asked me to go with them to the Marine Drive police station. They dropped me at Azad Maidan on Sunday. I am just a farmer demanding an ear from the government. What was the need to bring in the police?" he questioned.
On the midnight detention, a senior police officer told mid-day, "Jadhav wanted to demonstrate outside the Vidhan Sabha, which is not allowed as per court guidelines. Hence, we shifted him to Azad Maidan."
Jadhav said, "This government seems to have no time to listen to the farmers. So many of them are dying... Why can't they be freed of the loans? Thankfully, there hasn't been such a tragic incident in my family yet. But should I wait until then to voice farmers' woes? How long is the government going to wait?"
Meet with Home minister
However, Jadhav's fight has reached the state Assembly's halls. Sena MLA Ajay Choudhari brought it up in Sunday's special session of the Legislative Assembly, following which Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis sent state Home minister Ranjit Patil to meet Jadhav on his behalf.
Jadhav said he will continue to protest until the CM meets him. "I want the CM to meet me and listen to farmers' issues and pay tribute to these ashes. I will continue my protest at Azad Maidan till Tuesday, and then, head to Uttar Pradesh to immerse these ashes into the Ganga. If the UP government can free its farmers of their loans, why can't the Maharashtra government do the same?" he asked.
