Shiv Sena (UBT) on Tuesday, 29 September launched a blistering attack on Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis over his appeal asking ordinary citizens to cut back on personal celebrations and donate savings toward drought relief, calling the approach 'picking pennies from empty pockets.' The Thackeray-led party, writing in its mouthpiece 'Saamana', argued that the state has far more potent — and more just — sources of relief funding that it is refusing to tap.

Farmer Deaths Sharpen the Urgency

The editorial grounded its critique in an escalating human cost. According to the party's editorial, four farmers died by suicide within two days across the districts of Parbhani, Yavatmal, Solapur, and Hingoli — all driven, reportedly, by drought-induced debt and financial despair. Shiv Sena (UBT) warned that without direct and immediate state intervention, drought-affected regions risk becoming, in its words, 'graveyards,' placing the moral and administrative burden squarely on Chief Minister Fadnavis and his government.

The Corruption Argument: Where the Money Really Is

Rather than asking citizens already strained by inflation to forgo weddings and naming ceremonies, the editorial urged the government to turn its attention inward. It alleged widespread financial irregularities in state infrastructure projects, citing specifically the Konkan coastal land sales and the flow of public funds around the Shaktipeeth Expressway as examples of systemic leakage. 'The state government has become a government of commission-agents and contractors. There is looting everywhere. Inventing unnecessary projects to divert the treasury to contractors and warm one's own pockets — even if the Chief Minister stops this loot, it will benefit the drought-affected,' the editorial stated.

Specific Funding Proposals from Saamana

The editorial went beyond criticism to outline concrete alternative funding mechanisms. It called on the government to redirect pending political ally instalments directly into drought relief accounts and to mandate contributions from major Mumbai builders, Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) developers, and senior bureaucrats. It also proposed that the Centre allocate between ₹2,000 crore and ₹4,000 crore from the unutilised balance of the PM CARES Fund specifically to support Maharashtra's agricultural sector.

Political Spending in the Crosshairs

The Thackeray camp also took aim at alleged horse-trading and political defection funding, arguing that money reportedly set aside for electioneering and political poaching should be diverted immediately to rural distress. Symbolic gestures by ministers — such as donating a single month's salary — were dismissed as inadequate given the scale of resources the ruling alliance reportedly controls.

What Shiv Sena (UBT) Is Demanding

In conclusion, the party urged Chief Minister Fadnavis to demonstrate political courage by dismantling what it described as a 'thriving nexus of corrupt officials, contractors, and political middlemen,' and channelling those recovered funds toward genuine relief for the state's 11 crore citizens. This comes amid a broader opposition push in Maharashtra to hold the ruling Mahayuti alliance accountable for agrarian distress ahead of a politically sensitive period in the state.