Maharashtra farm loan waiver row: Rohit Pawar to begin hunger strike on June 12

3 min readMumbaiJun 6, 2026 01:13 PM IST

File photo of Rohit Pawar.

Alleging that the Maharashtra government has duped farmers by announcing a farm loan waiver scheme with stringent conditions, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar Saturday announced that he will go on an indefinite hunger strike from June 12 demanding a blanket farm loan waiver.

“Farmers, who have been caught in a severe financial crisis for the last three to four years, were hopeful for a loan waiver. However, due to the stringent conditions imposed by the government in the announced loan waiver scheme, the majority of farmers will remain deprived of its benefits. To demand that the government remove these stringent conditions and grant a blanket loan waiver to all farmers, an indefinite hunger strike will commence on June 12 in the holy city of Pandharpur, inspired by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar, and all other great leaders,” said Pawar in his social media post on X.

He said that this was a fight for the liberation of farmers from debt. “I request everyone to support this cause in any way possible and help raise the voice of the farmers. There is a week left before the protest begins, and I hope the government will make a decision in the best interest of the farmers by then,” he added.

Key demands of Pawar

1) The condition stipulating that 2019 loan waiver beneficiaries will receive only Rs 50,000 this time should be abolished, and a flat loan waiver of up to Rs 2 lakh should be granted to all farmers.

2) In the One-Time Settlement (OTS) scheme, too, the Rs 50,000 limit for 2019 loan waiver beneficiaries should be withdrawn, and a flat loan waiver of up to Rs 2 lakh should be provided to all farmers.

3) For farmers with dues exceeding Rs 2 lakh, the government should provide a blanket loan waiver of up to Rs 2 lakh without requiring the beneficiaries first to pay the amount exceeding that limit.

4) The condition requiring consecutive repayment of loans for two years to be eligible for the incentive grant should be abolished.

Story continues below this ad

5) The 6.56 lakh farmers who were eligible for the 2017 loan waiver but were deprived of its benefits due to a lack of documentation should be granted the loan waiver immediately.

6) Remove the ‘anti-farmer, oppressive trigger clauses’ in the crop insurance scheme and re-implement the 1-rupee crop insurance scheme.

7) Loan accounts should be restructured before the sowing season, and funds should be deposited into farmers’ accounts, which will be useful to them for sowing operations.