Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh on Monday urged the Centre to make special arrangements for farmers in the wake of the crisis in the country set off by the recent demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. Yadav said farmers have been left in the lurch by the government’s decision announced in the middle of the ongoing winter (Rabi) cropping season.

The chief minister said the farmers in the country had already harvested their kharif crops, and were banking on their cash reserves, which are mainly in high denomination notes, to buy seeds, fertilisers and pesticides. Yadav also spoke about the wedding season that would add to the woes of the community because many people would have kept aside cash for preparations, reported The Times of India.

Yadav had criticised the Centre’s “hasty decision” earlier as well. “The way in which Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes have been banned, it is creating a lot of problems for the people. The Centre has taken this decision in haste. The prime minister could have discussed it in the Parliament before taking the decision,” he told PTI on November 9.

Political rivals have criticised the Narendra Modi government’s move and said the decision was taken to gain political mileage in poll-bound states such as Uttar Pradesh.

The state was already grappling with an alleged feud in the Yadav family when the demonetisation hit them. Several senior leaders have been sacked from the Cabinet and the party in the past month two two perceived camps – one of Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and his brother and state unit president Shivpal Yadav, and the other comprising the incumbent chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and his supporters.

On Monday, expelled national General Secretary of the party, Ram Gopal Yadav, broke down publicly as he called the corruption charges against him “painful”. Shivpal Yadav had said of him, “He [Ramgopal Yadav] has met with a senior leader of the BJP three times. He is doing this because his son Akshay and daughter-in-law are accused in the Yadav Singh scam.” However, Ram Gopal Yadav said, “I am very much part of the party, because I drafted the constitution of the party, selected its symbol and have dedicated my life to it,” the Rajya Sabha MP told IANS. He supports Akhilesh Yadav in the feud.

Ram Gopal Yadav said the chief minister should be allowed to independently choose candidates for the upcoming elections. He reiterated his support for a second tenure for Akhilesh Yadav if the party is voted back to power in the state. He said he will write a bare all book soon. He was suspended from the party for six years in October for supporting Akhilesh Yadav and making public a letter written to Mulayam Singh Yadav.