Pune: Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) MP Supriya Sule on Saturday criticised the Maharashtra government’s ₹5,000 relief for drought-hit farmers as inadequate amid rising inflation and demanded that the state immediately release pending instalments under its farmer assistance scheme, taking the total immediate relief to ₹9,000 per farmer.

NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule on Saturday criticised the Maharashtra government’s ₹5,000 relief for drought-hit farmers as inadequate and demanded immediate release of pending instalments. (HT FILE)

Addressing a press conference in Pune, Sule also sought compensation of ₹1 lakh per hectare for farmers, waiver of farm loans and electricity bills, and questioned the government over alleged discrepancies in electoral rolls and restrictions on protests in Delhi.

She said the state’s Namo Shetkari Mahasanman Nidhi Yojana (NSMNY) scheme provides ₹6,000 annually in three instalments of ₹2,000 each. According to her, the last instalment was credited on January 13, 2026, while ₹4,000 due in the current financial year remained unpaid. She called for direct compensation of ₹1 lakh per hectare, citing a demand raised by NCP founder Sharad Pawar.

On electoral rolls, Sule claimed that the number of voters in the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency had fallen from 25 lakh to 19 lakh, while the Khadakwasla assembly constituency’s count had dropped from five lakh to 2.5 lakh. She demanded a transparent inquiry, saying, “I have won from Baramati, yet I am demanding an inquiry into my own constituency.”

Sule criticised alleged coercive recovery practices by microfinance companies in drought-hit Marathwada and questioned the government’s response. She said the Pawar family would not celebrate Diwali in Baramati this year following the death of Ajit Pawar (former deputy chief minister) in the family and amid the distress faced by farmers and workers.