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The Maharashtra Congress observed the completion of seven years in office of the Narendra Modi government as a ”black day”, and accused the Centre of pushing the country into a “gorge” of COVID-19 crisis.
The Congress, which shares power with the Shiv Sena and NCP in Maharashtra as part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), held protests in different parts of the state and claimed PM Modi had no moral right to continue in power as the central government “failed on all fronts”.
The NCP urged people to come forward and be vocal on social media to highlight the Modi government’s failures.
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A lot more needs to be done, he said, adding that there are problems of inflation, unemployment and unrest due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When you get majority, it means people have handed you the power with faith and trust. The people”s needs and demands are very few. They need livelihood – roti, kapda makan (food, clothing and shelter) are important along with health and education facilities,” the Rajya Sabha member said.
He said the central government should “introspect” if this has been achieved in the last seven years.
“More focus and hard work is required. PM Modi has the leadership capability and hope he will give a proper direction to the country,” he said.
To a question, Raut said it is good that there has been “no corruption charge” on the Modi government.
“Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has raised some issues which have still not been answered,” said Raut.
He said the Centre is the “guardian” of all states.
“Take care of all states like your own children, equal justice to all states is expected,” he said.
State Congress chief Nana Patole said his party was observing the Modi government’s anniversary as a “black day”.
He alleged that the Modi government was busy welcoming the then US president Donald Trump (in Gujarat last year) during the first COVID-19 wave, and then gave the pandemic a “communal colour” by putting the blame for the virus spread on a congregation of the Tablighi Jamaat.
When the COVID-19 cases and death toll were rising during the second wave, the Modi government was busy campaigning for Assembly polls (in West Bengal and other states), he said.
“The Modi government has pushed the country into a COVID-19 crisis gorge and has no right to continue in power. Prime Minister Narendra Modi should resign,” Patole asserted.
He said inflation, fuel price rise, unemployment, “crumbling economy” and the COVID-19 pandemic had made the lives of citizens miserable.
He also hit out at the Centre over alleged mismanagement of the COVID-19 vaccination drive.
“If the Modi government had planned its vaccination policy effectively, there would have been no shortage (of vaccines). Without considering the needs of 130 crore people, the vaccines were exported,” he said.
Referring to farmers” protest underway since November last year against the Centre”s new agri-marketing laws, Patole said the Modi government had no time to address the issues of cultivators.
“The Modi government has decided to sell the Railways, airports, state-owned telecom firms, LIC, petroleum companies, banks to select industrialist friends,” Patole claimed.
Maharashtra NCP chief Jayant Patil in a webcast said it was time to use the social media to show the mirror to the Modi government over its failures.
He alleged that continuing with the Central Vista project in such critical times was akin to denying health facilities to common citizens.
The redevelopment project of the Central Vista — the power corridor of the country — envisages a new triangular Parliament building, a common Central Secretariat and the revamping of the three-km-long Rajpath from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate and new residences for the prime minister and the vice president.
He claimed the ”Namaste Trump” event (held last year to welcome the then US president Donald Trump in Gujarat) turned out to be the “corona super-spreader”.
Demonetisation and shoddy implementation of the GST after opposing it during the previous UPA regime was a big mistake of the Modi government, Patil said.
The state water resources minister claimed the social divide hasincreased during the last seven years.
“The social media helped Modi to come to power and now the government is trying to cut it down to size,” he alleged.
Patil said the social media was now showing the mirror to Modi government.
The poor and the common man should come forward to highlight how the last seven yearshave hurt them, he said.
NCP”s chief spokesman Mahesh Tapase in a tweet said, “#7yearsofmodi has ruined the social fabric of the country & all that the Nation built in the years preceding #Modi If the same continues the time may not far when the preamble may not read as Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic. #7yearsOfModiMadeDisaster”.
Talking to reporters in Nagpur, state minister Nitin Raut claimed the seven years of the Modi at the Centre had been “fatal” for the country with people reeling under the burden of broken promises and skyrocketing inflation.
The price of petrol has crossed Rs 100 per litre, while diesel is retailing at Rs 90 per litre, affecting common citizens, he said.
Farmers were promised that their incomes would double by 2022, he said, adding that prices of fertilisers and seeds have gone up.
He alleged that new agri-marketing laws and labour reforms brought in by the Centre were anti-people.
“The Centre has failed on all fronts, be it business, agriculture, education, GDP, inflation, international relations. It has also left people to fend for themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the MLA from Nagpur-North claimed.
Meanwhile, former Maharashtra CM and senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan led a protest against the central government in Pune, while state PWD minister Ashok Chavan led a protest in Aurangabad.
State Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat held a protest in Nashik, Energy Minister Nitin Raut in Nagpur, Relief and Rehabilitation minister Vijay Wadettiwar in Amravati and Medical Education Minister Amit Deshmukh in Latur.
Those taking part in the protests wore black bands to mark their displeasure against the Centre and its policies.