NCP (SP) Suspends Farm Loan Waiver Protest After Invite for Talks with CM

The protest, led by MLA Rohit Pawar at Cambridge Chowk, lasted about an hour before it was called off following the minister’s assurance of a meeting at Vidhan Bhavan at 11.30 am on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, Pawar had alleged that the government was attempting to suppress the demonstration he had launched after the promised discussions on its new farm loan waiver scheme failed to materialise, and threatened to launch a "jail bharo" movement.

The opposition party leader had, earlier this month, gone on an indefinite hunger strike at Pandharpur in Solapur district seeking the removal of "stringent" conditions from the state government’s 'Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Shetkari Karja-mukti Yojana'. He subsequently called it off after he was assured of a meeting to discuss the issues.

Talking to reporters, he said, "Farmers blocked the road, but we did not want to inconvenience the common people for long. After speaking to Minister Girish Mahajan, it has been decided that we will meet tomorrow at 11.30 am and discuss the issues with the chief minister." He, however, warned that the agitation would intensify if the talks failed to yield any concrete outcome.

"Unfortunately, the responsibility has again fallen on Mahajan, who had earlier assured us during the Pandharpur agitation. He has again spoken to the CM and called us for a meeting. We will meet the government along with farmer leaders and see what it has to say," he said.

On June 2, the Maharashtra cabinet approved the Rs 36,585-crore farm loan waiver scheme, which is expected to benefit nearly 56 lakh cultivators.

Pawar has been pressing for a blanket loan waiver for farmers.

"If the government does not do anything for farmers, we have no option but to return to the streets. If tomorrow's meeting does not yield results, we will launch an agitation in Vidarbha," he warned.

NCP (SP) working president and Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule also joined the protest and was later detained by the police.

Before her detention, Sule said the party's legislators would raise issues concerning farmers in the assembly and warned that the party would march to the Vidhan Bhavan if justice wasn't delivered.

She criticised the Mahayuti government over the implementation of the Ladki Bahin scheme, alleging that nearly 80 lakh beneficiaries had lost their benefits because they were unable to complete the KYC process.

"If the government cannot complete the KYC process, it should hand over the responsibility to us. We will do it. Farmers are not getting a loan waiver, irrigation problems remain, and paper leaks continue," she alleged.

Sule said the NCP (SP) would continue its agitation until farmers are granted a blanket farm loan waiver on the lines of the waiver implemented during the UPA government led by former prime minister Manmohan Singh.

The 'Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Shetkari Karja-mukti Yojana’ provides a farm loan waiver of up to Rs 2 lakh. It has three components — loan waiver, one-time settlement (OTS) and incentive benefits — and there will be no landholding criterion for eligibility.

Under the waiver component, farmers whose total outstanding short-term crop loans, including principal and interest, are up to Rs 2 lakh will be eligible for complete debt relief. The loans must have been disbursed between April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2025; remained overdue as of September 30, 2025; and remained unpaid till March 31, 2026.

The farmers whose dues exceed Rs 2 lakh will be covered under the OTS component. Such borrowers will have to clear the amount above Rs 2 lakh, after which they will become eligible for a waiver of Rs 2 lakh. They have been given until March 31, 2027, to deposit their share of the outstanding amount.