Govt incompetent if can’t provide bus pass: Uddhav

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray has attacked the Devendra Fadnavis government yet again saying it had no right to be in power after failing to provide free bus passes to students.

“If the government is unable to provide bus passes to students in rural areas, we are incompetent to rule the state,” said Thackeray on Sunday during his Marathwada tour.

Thackeray, who is in Marathwada to distribute relief to drought-hit farmers, also criticised the state government’s inability to provide relief to farmers and their families.

The Sena chief distributed goats and Rs10,000 each to around 1,000 farmers in Jalna, Nanded and Parbhani, which are among the worsthit districts. He said government officials should improve their functioning or face consequences.

“The officials not paying heed to directives from political bosses will be dealt with Sena style,” he said.

In another incident, Sena MP and executive editor of the party’s mouthpiece Saamna Sanjay Raut, in his Sunday column, questioned the definition of ‘Acchhe Din’ of the Modi-led NDA government at the Centre.

“Will the promise to usher in Acche Din ever materialise? Maharashtra, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan as well as Jammu and Kashmir have BJP governments, but the people of these states are still looking for Acchhe Din,” Raut said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi won’t be present during the discussion in the Lok Sabha as he is in Paris for the climate change conference. However, the PM will be back in Delhi when the Rajya Sabha takes up the discussion on Tuesday as he is scheduled to leave Paris Monday night. The debate on intolerance comes two days after the Prime Minister met Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former PM Manmohan Singh at his Race Course Road residence to discuss the contentious GST bill.

Parliamentary affairs minister M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters in Vizag on Sunday that the government was ready to discuss the issue of intolerance in the ongoing session provided the Opposition allowed the House to function. He alleged that the Opposition and some “pseudo-intellectuals” were exaggerating stray incidents that had occurred in states being ruled by “the Congress and their friends” to tarnish India’s image.

“The BJP government is ready to discuss the issue of intolerance if Opposition shows tolerance and allows the House to function,” Naidu said.

This week, the government proposes to take up three bills in the Rajya Sabha, including Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, the Whistle Blower Protection (Amendment) Bill and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill. The Bills for consideration and passage in the Lok Sabha, include the Bureau of Indian Standards Bill, the Carriage by Air (Amendment) Bill, the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Amendment) Bill, the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, and the Factories (Amendment) Bill.