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Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis took a dig at the Opposition ahead of the commencement of the Monsoon Session of the state legislature, claiming that a memorandum submitted by Opposition parties appeared to have been prepared using artificial intelligence platform ChatGPT.
Addressing a press conference on the eve of the three-week-long Monsoon Session on Sunday, Fadnavis criticised the Opposition for boycotting the customary high-tea meeting convened ahead of the session and instead submitting a six-page memorandum outlining its concerns. "To be honest, even today, our opposition has boycotted the traditional high-tea. Actually, if they had come for the discussion, various matters would have been discussed, and an exchange of thoughts would have occurred," Fadnavis said. Referring to the memorandum submitted by Opposition leaders, the Chief Minister remarked that its contents appeared to have been generated using artificial intelligence. "When I saw this letter, I had a slight suspicion, so I checked. Then I realised that this letter was also prepared using ChatGPT. Using AI... it seems that now even for preparing letters, they have run out of topics, creativity, or even a basic understanding of the issues. Therefore, they are using AI," he said. The Chief Minister, however, added in a lighter vein that it was encouraging to see the opposition embracing technology. "Since the coming era belongs to AI, it is commendable that the opposition has begun using it now. I congratulate them on this," he said. The remarks came as political parties prepared for what is expected to be a stormy Monsoon Session, with the Opposition likely to raise issues related to farmers, governance and public welfare schemes. Fadnavis further alleged that the opposition continued to repeat issues that had already been debated and addressed by the government. According to him, several paragraphs in the latest memorandum were identical to those submitted in previous years. The Chief Minister also addressed concerns regarding the state's farm loan waiver programme, asserting that loan waivers were not political tools but measures intended to help farmers regain access to institutional credit. He said approximately 56 lakh farmers would benefit from the waiver package worth around Rs 36,585 crore, making it the largest such initiative undertaken in the state. Speaking about the delayed monsoon and emerging concerns over El Nino conditions, Fadnavis said Maharashtra was facing a challenging situation, with rainfall levels significantly below normal across regions. He noted that rainfall in Vidarbha was 80 per cent below average, while central Maharashtra and Konkan had recorded deficits of 83 per cent and 86 per cent respectively. He urged farmers to follow official advisories and begin sowing only after adequate rainfall had been received. The Chief Minister also said the government was monitoring water storage levels closely and had imposed restrictions on certain agricultural water withdrawals to safeguard drinking water supplies in case of a prolonged delay in monsoon rains. The Monsoon Session of the Maharashtra Legislature is scheduled to begin on June 22. (ANI)
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