Bawankule waits until 11.30 pm to eat at host farmer's home in Lohari Savanga

In view of drought conditions, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had asked every minister in Maharashtra to stay at a farmer's home and also eat there. Following that instruction, Fadnavis reached Lohari Savanga village in Nagpur district on the occasion of Diwali.

The Chief Minister spent the night at the home of Rambhau Balpande and ate there as well. In the same village, Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule stayed at the home of a farmer named Nandji Lohe. Bawankule, who is also Nagpur's guardian minister, was in the village along with the Chief Minister.

At Lohe's home, dinner was delayed for some reasons. The Chief Minister had by then finished his meal and it was time for the interaction with farmers, but Bawankule had not yet eaten.

Meanwhile, some party workers advised him to go to another house and eat. Bawankule flatly refused. His stand was that however late it got, he would eat at the home of the farmer who had given him a place to stay. He did not want to hurt that farmer's self-respect.

The farmer interaction then began, and Bawankule took part without having eaten. When it ended, he collected written complaints from all the farmers and gave the officials the necessary instructions on them. He then returned to Nandji Lohe's home. By then it was 11.15 pm.

Finally, at 11.30 pm, Bawankule sat down with the Lohe family and ate, celebrating Diwali in a simple manner.

Bawankule said that when a farmer has lovingly allowed one to stay in his home and shown respect, then even if the meal there is delayed by an hour or two, the farmer's feelings matter more.

Earlier, staying on in the village, Bawankule enjoyed a bonfire late into the night amid the cold and chatted with the local farmers present there.