An angry Prithviraj Chavan slammed Narendra Modi for indulging in‘politics over aid’,and said the Rs 22.5 crore that Gujarat has demanded from the state-controlled Mahananda Dairy for providing cattle feed was a “small amount” that will be paid immediately.
Chavan said the state had already distributed around Rs 10,000 crore to the drought-hit people and won’t haggle over another Rs 22.5 crore.
“The aid was provided by a milk cooperative in Gujarat (Dudhsagar, Asia’s largest milk cooperative based in Mehsana, which is controlled by the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation) to the Maharashtra Rajya Sahakari Dudh Mahasangh. Now, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s contention is why the aid had been extended to Maharashtra when Gujarat was also facing a drought. We have spent nearly Rs 10,000 crore for drought relief and Rs 22.5 crore is a small amount, which we will pay to Gujarat on behalf of the Maharashtra Rajya Sahakari Dudh Mahasangh,” the chief minister said.
The battle lines were drawn recently when Gujarat demanded Rs 22.5 crore from the state-controlled Mahananda Dairy for the cattle feed it provided last year when Maharashtra suffered one of its worst droughts ever, and faced a severe shortage of cattle feed
The Mahananda officials said the Gujarat officials going back on their word was “shocking and unexpected”. The Mahananda chairperson, Vaishali Nagawade, said: “A function was organised at Pune where Vipul Chaudhary, the chairman of Dudhsagar, distributed 22,500 metric tonnes of cattle feed. Sharad Pawar had also attended the event. The cattle feed packs bore stamps that said the feed was part of the aid package and was not for sale. We are shocked that Mahananda is being made to suffer because of this politics between the BJP and the UPA.”
Chavan said the state had already distributed around Rs 10,000 crore to the drought-hit people and won’t haggle over another Rs 22.5 crore.
“The aid was provided by a milk cooperative in Gujarat (Dudhsagar, Asia’s largest milk cooperative based in Mehsana, which is controlled by the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation) to the Maharashtra Rajya Sahakari Dudh Mahasangh. Now, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s contention is why the aid had been extended to Maharashtra when Gujarat was also facing a drought. We have spent nearly Rs 10,000 crore for drought relief and Rs 22.5 crore is a small amount, which we will pay to Gujarat on behalf of the Maharashtra Rajya Sahakari Dudh Mahasangh,” the chief minister said.
The battle lines were drawn recently when Gujarat demanded Rs 22.5 crore from the state-controlled Mahananda Dairy for the cattle feed it provided last year when Maharashtra suffered one of its worst droughts ever, and faced a severe shortage of cattle feed
The Mahananda officials said the Gujarat officials going back on their word was “shocking and unexpected”. The Mahananda chairperson, Vaishali Nagawade, said: “A function was organised at Pune where Vipul Chaudhary, the chairman of Dudhsagar, distributed 22,500 metric tonnes of cattle feed. Sharad Pawar had also attended the event. The cattle feed packs bore stamps that said the feed was part of the aid package and was not for sale. We are shocked that Mahananda is being made to suffer because of this politics between the BJP and the UPA.”