Mumbai, Oct 2 (PTI) Ahead of the Maharashtra assembly polls, the NCP (SP) on Wednesday came up with a “charge sheet” against the Mahayuti government, highlighting the shifting of industries from the state and the “collapse” of law and order.
The Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) launched a campaign focusing on ten critical areas including the “economic decline of Maharashtra, flight of industries, and women’s safety”.
The party leaders, led by Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule and Maharashtra unit chief Jayant Patil, marched from the Mahatma Gandhi statue near Mantralaya to the statue of former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and later walked to Hutatma Chowk in south Mumbai.
“We are launching the ‘Hakk Magtoy Maharashtra’ (state demanding rights) campaign across the state. We stand united to create a charge sheet against the Maharashtra government,” Jayant Patil told reporters.
This campaign is characterised by audio-visual outreach, including advertisements, on various media and a new song. The first advertisement focuses on “rising unemployment and the shifting of key projects to Gujarat”, he said.
“In the last ten years, the BJP and its two allies (NCP led by Ajit Pawar and Shiv Sena) have weakened the ideology of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Jyotiba Shahu, Jyotiba Phule, and B R Ambedkar,” Patil alleged.
Alleging agricultural distress, Patil claimed farmers are suffering because they want fair prices for soybeans, onions, and oranges. They are not given drought relief and are awaiting crop insurance. “Dairy farmers, in particular, bore the brunt of this government’s actions,” he added.
Patil alleged the common people are reeling under inflation and the spike in prices of petrol, diesel, LPG and electricity, and despite being the highest contributor to the GST payment pool, Maharashtra failed to get any justice in the Union Budget, unlike neighbouring states.
He claimed the state BJP’s “dependence” on Union Home Minister Amit Shah indicates the change of government in Maharashtra after the elections.
“Even as elections are being conducted in Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir, Shah is forced to camp in Mumbai, which suggests the seriousness of the crisis in the Maharashtra government. The MVA will come to power after winning elections,” Patil said.
The NCP (SP) leader flagged issues like corruption, the “breakdown” of law and order, and the exodus of industries from Maharashtra.
“Each partner in the government keeps asking for its share. Factors like deteriorating law and order, corruption, and unfriendly business policies led to industries shifting from Maharashtra. The industrial legacy of the state from the days of Yashwantrao Chavan (first CM) is being erased,” he alleged.
Patil accused the government of looking the other way even as projects are shifting to Gujarat. “We came to know today that projects are moving away from the Chakan industrial estate (in Pune).” Targeting the state government over the popular monthly cash transfer scheme for women, Patil said the state has failed to ensure the safety of “Ladki Bahin” (the name of the flagship scheme).
The charge sheet also highlighted how gangs holding koytas (long sickles) are operating with impunity and the proliferation of drug rackets.
“This government didn’t even think twice before indulging in corruption in the construction of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s statue in Malvan,” he alleged.
The collapse of the statue at a fort in coastal Sindhudurg, inaugurated by PM Modi last year, led to huge outrage.
Under the “Hakka Magtoy” campaign, the NCP (SP) also launched a missed call initiative and a website to encourage the participation of the common people.
Queried on the state government’s decision to declare Indigenous cows as Rajyamata-Gomata, Patil accused the BJP of financial links with beef exporters through electoral bonds.
“How much money the BJP has received from beef exporters through electoral bonds? It will be clear how much they love gau mata,” he said.
Patil said Union minister Nitin Gadkari’s observations on state finances must be true as the senior BJP leader is known for speaking his mind.
“Nitin Gadkari is respected because he speaks whatever is necessary, needed, and holds true for the country. If he is saying this, it must be true,” he added.
Gadkari recently said the Maharashtra government’s mega ‘Ladki Bahin Yojana’, which provides financial assistance to underprivileged women, could affect the timely payment of subsidies in other sectors. PTI MR NSK
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