Uddhav slams PM Modi on decentralisation

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray slammed the Modi regime for concentrating all power in its hands. “If the administration is going to be run according to the PM’s whims, one wonders if there is democracy left in the country,” Thackeray said in an interview with ‘Saamna’, the Sena mouthpiece, on Sunday. He came down heavily on the Centre on the demonitisation issue, saying it had triggered unemployment.
The three-part interview, which coincides with Thackeray’s birthday next week, reflects Matoshree’s growing suspicion of the Modi government amid speculation that the BJP is keen on cutting the Sena to size now that the Presidential election is through, political experts said.Thackeray’s Q&A session is meant to make it clear that he is set for a fight, if that is what BJP is looking for, they added.
Pointing out that Rajiv Gandhi had stood for decentralisation in the 1980s, Thackeray said Modi, however, robbed all institutions of autonomy. “The PM is on a spree... He wants to hand over everything to the Centre,” he said, and pulled up the Modi government for presenting a rosy picture of its rule through advertising campaigns. “Achche din are found only in such ads,” he remarked.
Stating that nearly 15 lakh Indians had lost jobs in the last four months following demonetisation, Thackeray said the Centre should create jobs for those affected by the ‘note-bandi’. “There is hardly any coordination between the Centre’s Make In India and Start-Up India schemes and demonetisation,” he observed.
Thackeray questioned the PM’s claim that two crore Indians had benefited from the Centre’s gas subsidy scheme. Demanding a proper list of beneficiaries, Thackeray said, “Who has the list? How can one locate two crore beneficiaries in a country which boasts of a 125 crore population?” he stated.
Thackeray contested the Maharashtra government’s claim that the loan waiver scheme announced recently would benefit 89 lakh farmers in the state. “I want the names of all 89 lakh farmers from the state government on the floor of the state legislative assembly... I don’t want miscalls,” he said. He has reportedly instructed party MLAs to confront the government on the list of farmers who have benefited from the waiver on the floor of the House. The monsoon session begins on Monday.
Thackeray claimed the Sena was playing the role of a conscience-keeper in the Maharashtra government. “Whenever I or the Sena make our views known, we are dubbed anti-government. I am not against the state government. I am pro-people... Whenever the government goes wrong, I will speak up for the people of the state,” he said, and recalled that even Balasaheb Thackeray used to be critical of the Atal Behari Vajpayee regime if the need arose.