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Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Ajit Pawar has attacked the opposition for their “critical and negative” mindset. He asserted that he never changed his party and had always prioritised development. Releasing a video statement on social media on July 4, Mr. Pawar said some people “only see the negative.”
Highlighting his achievements as a minister, he said: “Development has been the primary motto of my politics. I have always given preference to the people of my state and ensured their lives could be made better through governance and administration. In this budget, I have announced that our government will provide ₹1,500 to every beneficiary woman between 21 and 60 under the Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana through a direct monthly transfer. As Finance Minister I waved off the electricity bills of 44 lakh farmers. We are providing a subsidy of ₹350 per quintal to onion farmers. This is in addition to the subsidy of ₹5,000 per acre being given to cotton and soyabean growing farmers. In fact, last year we gave a bonus of ₹20,000 per hectare to paddy farmers,” Mr. Pawar said.
On June 29, Mr. Pawar presented a ₹20,051 crore revenue deficit budget, in which he announced a budget of over ₹80,000 for women and farmers. He also spoke about the proposal to provide three free LPG cylinders per year to families below the poverty line (BPL). “Our government will provide financial aid to 25,000 people to set up businesses in Maharashtra as well as additional scholarships of ₹10,000 per year to youth under a skill-impartment and training programme. We have sanctioned surplus funds of ₹7,600 crore for the construction and repair of state highways and rural roads in the next three months,” Mr. Pawar said.