Ashok Chavan takes a dig at BJP-Sena friction
Elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh will set the stage for BJP's losing streak which is about to start, he said.
Mumbai: Constant sparring between the Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena has ‘paralysed’ the Maharashtra government, said former chief minister Ashok Chavan on Tuesday, while listing the ruling dispensation’s many failures..
“The tussle between the ruling partners has completely paralysed the government, which has cost the state dearly. The credibility of administration has taken a big hit as the Sena loses no opportunity to criticise the government, nor does it have the courage to pull out,” said Chavan.
He claimed that this constant bickering had severely dented the state’s image globally and affected flow of investment from foreign countries. Chavan further said that despite the promise made by BJP ahead of the 2014 assembly elections, farmer suicides in the state were on the rise.
“The government's assurance of loan waiver for farmers has proved to be hollow. It claimed the package would be worth '34,000 crore. Later, it made various changes to (eligibility) conditions and ultimately, the amount that is to be disbursed has turned out much less. And now when the government knows it has been caught out, it is blaming banks, saying that they gave wrong figures of (eligible) farmers,” said Chavan.
Continuing his tirade against the government, Chavan said that GDP growth rate was abysmally low, unemployment numbers were at their highest in decades, and there were no jobs. “Make in India” and “Make in Maharashtra” have turned out to be mere slogans, he said.
The former chief minister said that voting trends in the state were changing and cited results of recent local elections in Nanded (his home turf), Parbhani, Bhiwandi and Malegaon.
“We have won a substantially large number of gram panchayats as well, though the BJP may continue to contest our figures,” he said.
Elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh will set the stage for BJP’s “losing streak” which is about to start, he said. The Congress leader said that his party was launching the “Jan Akrosh” agitation from Tuesday to highlight various issues including the plight of farmers, inflation and fuel price rise. Protests would be held at various places including Ahmednagar, Mahad, Osmanabad, Amravati, Chandrapur and Sangli, he said and added that November 8, the first anniversary of demonetisation, would be observed as a "black day".