Nagpur (Maharashtra), Dec 11 (IANS): Upping the ante, the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) legislators staged a vociferous protest outside the Maharashtra Legislature demanding revocation of the ban on onion exports and other agriculture-related issues here on Monday.

The legislators of the MVA allies Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT), along with the Leaders of Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar (Assembly) and Ambadas Danve (Council) raised slogans against the Centre for imposing the onion exports ban till March 2024.

This has created massive problems for the onion-growers with the prices of the vegetable falling in the markets and farmers unable to get even the Minimum Support Prices (MSP).

The MVA legislators, protesting for the third day since the Winter Session of the Legislature started last Thursday, demanded that the Centre must remove the onion export ban and also give guaranteed prices for onion and soybeans.

They pointed out that the farmers have suffered double losses this year owing to the uneven and sparse monsoon and later the unseasonal floods/hailstorm in the winter that brought them to ruin.

Besides the LoPs, the other prominent leaders present were NCP(SP) state President Jayant Patil, Anil Deshmukh, Sunil Bhusara, the Congress’ Zeeshan Siddiqui, Ravindra Dhangekar, Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Bhaskar Jadhav and others.

The protests outside the legislature came soon after NCP President Sharad Pawar joined the onion growers’ agitation, road-block and sit-in demonstrations in Chandwad, Nashik when he slammed the Centre for its “anti-farmers policies.”

The Centre’s move has also been flayed by the NCP(SP) Working President Supriya Sule, the Congress’ state President Nanasaheb Patole, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and others in the past few days.