The Shiv Sena on Monday hinted at snapping ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in a Twitter post as the party is "upset" with BJP and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Shiv Sena member and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut tweeted: "What should we do with the Govt, Yes! Shivsena will soon take a decision. wait and watch." Sena leaders met at Matoshree to decide on the issue of breaking the alliance. Raut said Sena does not wish to "be a party to" the policies of the BJP and is "on the verge of taking a final call."
Sena slammed the BJP for "fleecing poor people" through inflation, rising fuel prices and the issue of farmer loans. The party also took issue with the government throwing a spanner in the development works pushed by Sena, bureaucratic red tape and reneging on election promises.
"The legislators have authorised the Sena President to review the situation and take an appropriate decision... The party will fully support him," Raut told reporters on Monday.
Alphons' remarks an "insult" to the poor
Sena slammed Union minister Alphons Kannanthanam's remarks on fuel price hike calling it an "insult" to the poor and the middle class. The party claimed the high fuel prices drove farmers into committing suicide in India.
Kannanthanam, Union minister for tourism and IT, had recently defended the fuel price hike, saying vehicle owners are "not starving" and can afford to pay for the fuel.
"This Navratna (Jewel) in the cabinet is justifying the steep high prices of fuel because he has never paid for it from his pocket. This is like spitting on the face of the poor who were not humiliated to such an extent even during the Congress rule," the Sena said.
"A major reason behind the thousands of farmers' deaths in Maharashtra and elsewhere in the country is due to steep hike in fuel prices. There is the regular 'shock of load-shedding', so they have to depend on diesel-run generators for agriculture. Then, they are required to shell out higher prices for transportation of their farm produce to the distant markets... Many farmers simply can't afford to pay all these high costs and hence resort to committing suicide," the editorial is Sena mouthpiece, Saamna, said.
"Listen to him! This bureaucrat-turned-minister with no political experience is probably full of the 'merit' that the BJP President Amit Shah said the Congress is lacking," the Sena added.
"Have they forgotten, how - when there was a fuel hike during UPA, all top BJP leaders like Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Smiri Irani and Dharmendra Pradhan - jammed the streets protesting with empty gas cylinders?" the Sena asked.
"'Achhe Din' are being killed daily... People have no food to eat, farmers continue to be in crises, inflation and unemployment are adding to peoples' woes... The poor have never been insulted even in the Congress regime... The middle-class people have been spit on the face by Kannanthanam's comments," it said.
People praising bullet train should be sent to mental hospital
The Sena also slammed the bullet train project launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week saying the money being spent on the trains should have been utilised to bring down inflation.
"It would have been better if the money being spent on bullet train is utilised to bring down the inflation. But, those indulging in 'chamchagiri' (sycophancy) by saying that those buying fuel don't go hungry are killing the 'achhe din' everyday," the Sena said.
At a time when people do not have food to eat, the condition of the farmers is deteriorating and the nation is hit with inflation and unemployment, if there is anyone praising the bullet train project, "they should be sent to a mental hospital for examination of their state of mind."
