Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly Ajit Pawar on Thursday slammed the state government over the Supreme Court’s remarks on hate speech and said many parties have repeatedly raised the issue.

Referring to the mob violence in Aurangabad on Wednesday night, he also said attempts are being made to disturb the peace.

The top court on Wednesday made strong comments during the hearing of a contempt petition seeking action against several state authorities, including Maharashtra, for allegedly failing to register first information reports (FIRs) against those who make hate speech.

“We are hearing the contempt petition because states are not taking action in time. This is because the state has become impotent, powerless, and does not act in time. Why should we have a state at all if it is silent,” the SC said.

Pawar said, “Yesterday, the Supreme Court called the Maharashtra government an impotent government. Isn’t it an insult to Maharashtra? A matter of shame for the (Eknath) Shinde-(Devendra) Fadnavis government? The Supreme Court has never uttered such words for any government.” The senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader, is on a visit to the Nashik district, was talking to reporters here.

The government should take the SC remarks seriously and those in power should introspect about why the apex court said so, he said. “An immediate meeting should be convened on the issue,” he said The Opposition has been raising the issue but the heads of the government do not like being told about it, he said.

“Earlier too, the court had pointed out that politics and religion should be separate. Precautions should be taken to prevent the spread of communal hatred and avoid situations that may lead to law and order problems,” he said.

Referring to the mob violence in Aurangabad on Wednesday night, Pawar said, “Is this an attempt to create hatred between two communities? The police should inquire and find the mastermind. The police should work without any political pressure.” A mob of more than 500 persons allegedly attacked policemen in Aurangabad after some youth clashed among themselves, a senior official said on Thursday.

The NCP leader also spoke about the problems being faced by onion farmers in Nashik, which produces a huge amount of the kitchen staple.

He said the government should restart the NAFED onion purchase centres in the area so that farmers can get a fair price for their produce. The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) is a top procurement as well as a marketing agency for agricultural products in the country.

“Unseasonal rains have caused losses to farmers. Due to the recent strike of government employees, panchnamas (assessment of loss) could not be done. As a result, farmers have not received compensation. The government should give substantial help to onion farmers. I will speak to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde about the onion issue,” he said.

According to farmers, NAFED stopped procuring onions after the conclusion of the budget session of the state legislature last week. As a result, onion prices that had touched Rs 1,141 a quintal last Friday dropped to Rs 851 a quintal on Wednesday.

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