Fadnavis faces Opposition criticism as he completes two years

Law and order issues coupled with the seething discontent in the Maratha community have aggravated the criticism.

The opposition parties in Maharashtra have termed the Devendra Fadnavis government as a “government of failures”. The scathing criticism comes at a time when Fadnavis completes two years in office as Chief Minister. Fadnavis has said that the state is an attractive investment destination now, and that the water woes of many places have reduced considerably due to his flagship Jalayukta Shivar Yojana. But the law and order issues coupled with the seething discontent in the Maratha community have aggravated the criticism against the government. Also, big-ticket investment projects like Foxconn’s Rs 40,000 crore investment are likely to be in cold storage. The government’s decision to subsidise British band Coldplay’s performance in Mumbai is being looked at as a poll tactic to garner support for the coming municipality elections next year. The NCP has particularly targeted the government for alleged scams, farmers’ distress and suicides, crop wastage, deteriorating law and order situation.

The Chief Minister has, however, maintained that the criticism levelled by the opposition about scams is baseless. Talking about the Foxconn investment, he said that the project was facing a few problems and that his government is actively looking into it.

The recent case of rape of a 13-year-old tribal girl at a residential school in Buldhana has led to the opposition training its guns on the government. Fadnavis also holds the additional charge of the Home department.

This week, Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam approached the Chief Election Commissioner’s office with a letter seeking that the Code of Conduct should be invoked in Mumbai and Coldplay band’s performance should either be postponed or cancelled. He also sought the Election Commission’s intervention in ensuring that no political leader is allowed to remain present and speak on the dais during the performance.

Coldplay is going to perform at Mumbai’s MMRDA ground on 19 November. The concert has been organised by Global Citizen India. The Maharashtra government has been named as the strategic partner and co-sponsor for the programme. In a special meeting chaired by the CM, a decision was taken to give 75% concession to Coldplay. The entertainment tax has also been waived. The NCP has alleged that this is an attempt to impoverish the poor people of the state. The BJP has said that since election dates have not been announced for Mumbai yet, the Code of Conduct cannot be invoked in the city. The Opposition has alleged that the programme is being organised right now to exploit the political fortunes in the face of the coming municipality elections.

“The Shiv Sena had done the same thing a few years ago by inviting Michael Jackson to perform in Mumbai. Now, the BJP is following the footsteps of its allies,” Nirupam said.

Nirupam has also written to the Chief Minister recently, asking the CM not to politicise Chhath pooja in Mumbai. Considering the 22 lakh-odd North Indian population in Mumbai, it is an important vote bank for all political parties. The BJP has already kickstarted its Chhath Puja celebrations from Friday. The CM is expected to attend a puja today (Sunday). Nirupam has cited a Bombay High Court order, and stated that the CM should refrain from making any political speech or hoisting the flag of the party during the event.

However, Ashish Shelar, Mumbai BJP chief, refuted Nirupam’s allegations about politicisation of Chhath pooja. “The BJP has always respected the religious sentiments of Mumbaikars. This has nothing to do with the elections,” he said.

Meanwhile, the NCP has labelled the BJP-led government has been a failure in Maharashtra. After the recent case of rape of a tribal girl in Buldhana, it has said that the law and order situation has deteriorated so much in the state that neither the common person nor police themselves feel safe anymore. “Small girls are being raped in the state. Is the state changing or crying?” asked Nawab Malik, chief spokesperson of NCP.

He said that the recent Union Commerce Ministry evaluation showed Maharashtra on the 10th rank on the Ease of Doing Business index, and still the CM claimed that the state is leading. “The government should give figures of the number of employment opportunities generated due to “Make in India” campaign. Also, the government is trying to criminalise the labour sector by placing criminal elements as labour union leaders,” he claimed.

NCP leader Dhananjay Munde launched an attack on the government, saying that it was a “selfie-clicking selfish government”. “The Maharashtra government had claimed that Foxconn will invest Rs 40,000 crore in Maharashtra. But the company has only invested Rs 36 crore till date. All the investment plans here are moving to Madhya Pradesh. There is seething discontent amid various communities in the state, including Dalits, Muslims. The Marathas are already on the streets, seeking reservation. People have lost faith in this government which had made tall promises during the election fray,” he said.