UDDHAV THACKERAY HITS OUT AT MODI
TROUBLED TIES In an interview to party mouthpiece Saamana, Shiv Sena chief says note ban has affected the livelihood of 15 lakh people, slams state govt over farm loan waivers
MUMBAI: In yet another sign of strained ties between the allies, the Shiv Sena launched a scathing attack on the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi through its mouthpiece Saamana on Sunday.
In a freewheeling chat with Sanjay Raut, Sena MP and executive editor of the newspaper, party chief Uddhav Thackeray accused the Prime Minister of ‘centralising’ power.
Uddhav attacked Modi over his style of functioning, demonetisation, Good and Services Tax (GST) and his poll pitch of ‘achhe din’.
“Achhe din are only limited to government advertisements. The ground reality is completely different. Do we have true democracy in the country if all affairs are going to be run as per the wishes of the Prime Minister? He is centralising power at the Centre, instead of decentralising it. He is taking away the independence of the states,” the party chief said.
Uddhav, who has been critical of the government’s move to ban ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes in an effort to check black money, said demonetisation had not yielded anything positive but had affected the livelihood of 15 lakh people.
“Around 15 lakh people lost their jobs due to demonetisation. This means around 60 lakh people were directly affected. You should give them jobs now. How are you going to balance programmes such as Start-up India, Make in India with such colossal job losses? ” he asked.
The Sena chief also slammed the state government over farm loan waivers.
Uddhav said in the upcoming monsoon session, the government should table the list of 36 lakh farmers who would get the benefit of the waiver. He added that the party would continue its ‘dhol bajao andolan’ (protest by beating drums) to turn the heat on the government over implementing the waiver.
Interestingly, Uddhav said he shared a cordial relationship with Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
“There was no personal animosity between me and the current chief minister. My relationship with him is really good. Often, he has accepted the suggestions I have given. He is putting forward views of his party, I am representing the people of the state. The difference is only that,” he said.
The two parties share an uncomfortable relationship since the 2014 assembly polls where they contested independently. In 2017, the two parted ways for the Mumbai civic election.
The Shiv Sena, which is the junior partner in the central and state governments, has never missed an opportunity to speak up against the BJP and the Prime Minister.
Reiterating his stand, Uddhav said he and his party would continue to speak up whenever they disagreed with the decision of the BJP in the state and the Centre. “I want to explain my stand here. Whenever I say something or Sena speaks, we are considered anti-government. I am not anti-government. I am merely on the side of the people,” he added.
Do we have true democracy in the country if all affairs are going to be run as per the wishes of the PM? He is centralising power instead of decentralising it. UDDHAV THACKERAY, Sena chief