As Modi govt completes 7 yrs, Sena calls for introspection

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday said India is surviving as a nation due to the good deeds of previous governments since the time of Jawaharlal Nehru, and the present Modi government needs to introspect on whether it has been able to fulfil the basic needs of people.

Besides, the Maharashtra Congress observed the seventh anniversary 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".

Talking to reporters here, Raut said, "The country is surviving on the good deeds of previous governments since the time of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to Manmohan Singh," the Shiv Sena's chief spokesperson said.

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 veryfew. 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 theleadership 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 "nocorruption charge" on the Modi government.

"Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has raised some issues which have still not been answered," said Raut, whose party shares power with the NCP and Congress in Maharashtra.

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.

Raut also said that opposition leaders were called only in West Bengal and Gujarat for meetings convened by the prime minister on cyclone relief, and (WB Chief Minister) Mamata Banerjee has raised these issues.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra 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 three 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.

Meanwhile, Former Maharashtra CM and senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan led a protest against the Centre 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.

Talking to reporters in Nagpur, 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.