Amit Shah Convenes Crisis Meeting as Maharashtra Onion Farmers Protest

Amit Shah convened a high-level meeting at his Delhi residence to address a deepening agrarian crisis in Maharashtra, bringing together Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar, and cooperative sugar industry representatives. The meeting responded to mounting distress among onion growers and the sugar sector, both reeling from price crashes, unseasonal weather, and geopolitical freight disruptions in West Asia.

Onion farmers have rejected the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India's increased procurement price of Rs 15.80 per kg, demanding a minimum floor price of Rs 30 per kg. Growers in Chandwad launched fresh agitations, while the opposition coalition Maha Vikas Aghadi and farmer organizations escalated protests statewide with a Rasta Roko blockade on the Mumbai-Agra National Highway at Chandwad Chouphuli. Protesters demanded a minimum support price of Rs 24 per kg and a Rs 15 per kg subsidy on sold produce. The crisis turned tragic when a farmer in Nashik's Baglan tehsil died by suicide due to financial distress. Police detained opposition leaders including Rohit Pawar, Ambadas Danve, and Harshvardhan Sapkal during the Nashik demonstrations.

Fadnavis urged calm, noting the Central government had raised procurement prices, while accusing opposition leaders of exploiting the crisis for publicity. The sugar sector faces parallel pressures, with the Directorate General of Foreign Trade imposing an export ban on raw, white, and refined sugar through September 30, 2026. Eighty-three sugar mills now owe Rs 934 crore in dues to farmers as production costs exceed the frozen Minimum Selling Price, widening the sector's viability gap.