Maharashtra CM accuses MVA of sending AI-generated letter to tea party boycott

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has given reasons for boycotting the annual tea party, accusing opposition parties of sending an AI-generated letter criticizing the government.

The information contained in the letter, which was also conveyed through a media briefing, listed the reasons for the absence from the tea party and mentioned the issues that the MVA was planning to raise during the monsoon season, chief among them agricultural loan waivers.

Speaking at a press conference after the Cabinet meeting, Fadnavis said the letter was drafted on the open AI chatbot ChatGPT, and mockingly said he was happy that the Opposition was using the technology.

Opposition parties had demanded meaningful loan forgiveness for farmers, citing the drought. To this, Fadnavis said, “For us, loan waivers are for farmers, they should be kept alive, farmers should be empowered to take loans again, and we are looking at it from this perspective… We have set up a committee and tasked it with looking at short-term measures, long-term measures, the impact on the banking system and submitting a report, after which we have set some criteria for it.”

The CM also acknowledged potential water shortages, saying this is an El Niño year and June rainfall is only 80% of the long-term average. He further said that water storage in the state is limited to only 24%. He said the government had issued instructions to farmers on agricultural activities based on information from the meteorological department. “Currently, the amount of water stored is limited.”