Latur/Nagpur: BJP has once again proved that no issue is sensitive when it comes to brandishing their political image! And the situation gets more evident when the saffron brigade appears to be playing politics on delivering water full of train wagons to drought hit Latur on Tuesday.
Sources informed that just after the train carrying five lakh litres of water arrived, supporters of the BJP climbed onto the train to plaster it with a poster thanking Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu for the intervention.
The train arrived several hours behind schedule and with far less water than originally planned. Latur, nearly 500 kms from the state capital of Mumbai, has been scorched by drought.
Meanwhile as the BJP tried means to grab credit for the relief, local Congress leaders too were not behind. A sort of credit sharing tussle has started in the town. Congress leaders, including the local mayor Akhtar Shaikh, who received the train said they deserve some recognition because the local corporation is run by their party.
The train with 10 wagons specially designed to hold and transport water took 18 hours instead of six to cover nearly 300 kilometres from Miraj in western Maharashtra to its destination.
“This was a trial run. Speed is not a consideration. It came as scheduled in the morning,” Latur Collector Pandurang Pole told a news channel.
Marathwada is facing one of its worst droughts in a century. Seven of the 11 major dams in the region have gone dry. The state government led by BJP has been into the game of politics and made it a point to secure its share of publicity and create soft corner among the drought hit farmers.
A fumed farmer said, “Politicising the drought issue for gaining party’s weight is certainly an act to be condemned.”
