Sharad Pawar blames PM Modi for economic mess

Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar has slammed the Modi government over the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project. “I am not against modern technology. But, we must go with the feasibility of any project. Using such a huge amount for the project will not be right. Instead, modernise the Mumbai local railway network with that money,” he said about the Rs 1.10 lakh crore project.

“We have heard an old speech of Prime Minister Modi where he was laughingly talking about need for the bullet train. This attitude of announcing big projects without checking the need is wrong,” said Mr Pawar.

He also said that he was waiting for the union railway minister's resignation like Lal Bahadur Shastri had done many years ago.

In addition to the bullet train, Mr Pawar fired some more shots at the Modi government over the economic slowdown, failure in addressing agricultural issues, and even notices to youths writing against BJP on social media.

“I have been reading reports of job cutting in many companies. This is certainly an alarming situation. ‘Make in India’ has proved just a slogan. The Modi government's attitude of handling the economy has proven a complete failure,” Mr Pawar said.

About the farmer loan waiver, he said, “Waiver for all is the core issue. We will not compromise on it. We will meet on November 5 in Aurangabad. If the state government hasn’t kept its word till date, we will go all out on the road against the government," he warned.

On the ongoing issue of the youth writing against the BJP government on social media and getting notices from the cyber cell of state police, he said, “Who used social media first? If people are expressing their views against government failure, they are entitled to do so. Trying to shut their voices through police notices is not at all acceptable.”

Mr Pawar said that people are now feeling cheated by government. “We must raise their issues and exposed the failure of the government,” he said.