Nagpur: Independent legislator from Vidarbha Ravi Rana on Sunday ended his seven-day long hunger strike after being assured by Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan that pricing issues raised by cotton and soya farmers will be resolved.
The 32-year-old Rana was rushed to a Nagpur hospital on Saturday after his condition became critical with swelling in his kidneys, chest pain and a sharp fall of over 10 kgs in his body weight, his wife Navneet Kaur told reporters. "Chavan and several Cabinet ministers including Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, Narayan Rane, Balasaheb Thorat, Shivajirao Moghe and others spoke to me and appealed to end the fast. After getting the CM`s written assurance today that the matter would be resolved Wednesday, I decided to end my hunger strike," Rana said from his bed in the hospital`s ICU.
Agriculture Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil said that Rana has been invited to attend an all-party meeting convened by the chief minister on Wednesday, where a decision on the pricing issue is expected to be finalised. Rana has been demanding a wholesale price of Rs 6,000 per quintal for cotton farmers to improve their financial lot and arrest the growing suicides in the Vidarbha region of eastern Maharashtra.
IANS