Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday, 21 June defended the state government's ₹36,585 crore crop loan waiver scheme and outlined a packed legislative agenda for the three-week monsoon session beginning Monday, signalling readiness for floor debate while warning the opposition of a firm political counter if it chose disruption over dialogue.

Crop Loan Waiver: Key Details

Addressing a press conference following the Cabinet meeting in Mumbai, Fadnavis strongly defended the farm loan relief package, asserting it was introduced solely to support farmers — not for electoral gain. The scheme is expected to benefit roughly 56 lakh farmers across Maharashtra.

Defaulted crop loans and restructured non-performing asset (NPA) accounts between 2019 and 2025 will be fully waived up to ₹2 lakh per farmer, with no landholding criteria attached. Farmers who have consistently repaid crop loans on time over the past three years will receive a financial incentive of ₹50,000.

Legislative Agenda for the Monsoon Session

Fadnavis announced that 10 legislative bills will be introduced during the session, drawing on recommendations by agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan and scientist Soumya Swaminathan from past joint legislative consultative frameworks. A key provision in the proposed bills would grant independent legal status to women farmers, enabling them to co-own agricultural land titles and directly access institutional credit, subsidies, and government benefits.

One pending bill currently stalled in the Legislative Council will also be tabled for consideration during the session.

On El Nino and Sowing Advisory

The Chief Minister acknowledged that El Nino has posed challenges for the agricultural season, while noting that the government has enacted a range of mitigation measures. He appealed to farmers to hold off on sowing operations, citing the likelihood of scattered rainfall until late June or early July.

NEET and Examination Integrity

Fadnavis asserted that the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) was conducted smoothly in Maharashtra without any technical or systemic irregularities. He said the state machinery had implemented extensive preventive steps to eliminate malpractices and safeguard the interests of genuine medical aspirants.

Opposition Boycott and Political Tone

Fadnavis was flanked at the press conference by Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar. He criticised the opposition's decision to boycott the customary pre-session tea meeting hosted by the Chief Minister, accusing it of sending a routine letter without raising any substantive new issues.

'Our fundamental effort is rooted in active dialogue. We stand entirely ready to reply to any constructive legislative query. However, if the Opposition chooses to play politics, they will receive a matching political reply. If they bring forward social matters, they will receive a reasoned social reply,' Fadnavis said.

The opposition, in turn, justified its boycott by citing what it described as the government's failure on key issues. With the monsoon session set to run for three weeks, the standoff signals a combative opening to the legislative calendar.