According to MPCC chief Ranjit Deshmukh what concerns the Congress most at the present juncture is that farmers are going hungry in a land of plenty, for Maharashtra is not known to be a famine-prone area. ``If it was the labourer, we would understand. But when the tiller has no grains to eat, there has to be something seriously wrong with the fiscal management of this State,'' Ranjit Deshmukh today told The Indian Express.

By the time the meeting begins, the MPCC hopes to have a report from its fact-finding team comprising former Minister for Agriculture Harshwardhan Deshmukh and past members of the State Agricultural Board who are currently touring all the regions of Maharashtra in a bid to get to the bottom of the cause of farmers' suicides.

But theparty already has a picture about what it will confront the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata party government in the interests of the agricultural community. ``First and foremost, there must be loan waivers like was done in 1981-82 by then chief minister A R Antulay. Their power supply must not be disconnected just because they are in no position to pay up the dues. They should be given food to eat, free of cost. And most important, seeding should be done at government expense for the kharif season.''

Only with these measures can some semblance of sanity be restored to the farming community in Maharashtra,'' says Deshmukh.

The suggestions, however, are likely to put the State government on the mat as it might not have the funds to accomplish all this. ``That is what will be examined by our economic resolution,'' says Deshmukh. ``The Congress' economic policies kept the State on a tight leash. Maharashtra is now thoroughly bankrupt and fully mortgaged. We have to be alert to suicidal possibilities in other areasbesides farming and we have to bring these to the notice of the people.''

However, this is not the only situation that the State executive will discuss. Before Sonia arrives on Wednesday, they would have talked the law and order situation in the State and pressed for the tabling of the Srikrishna Commission report in the next session of the legislature.

Asked if the Congress was going slow on making the report public because its leaders too stood the chance of being rapped on their knuckles by Justice Srikrishna's observations, Deshmukh said, ``The Congress is not afraid. And we are willing to accept whatever strictures might have been passed against our then Chief Minister. At best, our leaders' crime was one of vacillation and delayed decisions. And we are willing to be pulled up for it.''

However, the Sena's role during the 1992-93 riots was far more crucial, says Deshmukh. ``Our errors of omission by far pale against theirs of commission.''

Apart from discussing the means of beating down thesimmering rebellion within the party rank and file, the two-day meet will also examine the crucial issue of by-elections to ten seats to the Assembly which have fallen vacant since the general elections, seven due to resignations by Congress legislators elected as MPs.

Of the remaining three, one seat was vacated following the death of Congress MLA Raibhan Jadhav. One was held by the Bharatiya Janata Party and the last by a Congress rebel now with the Shiv Sena. The party is pushing to ensure that it wins all its eight seats and hopes to wrest Ramtek from the Sena. If the BJP's Akkalkot comes its way, it would be a bonus, adds Deshmukh.