Nirmala Sitharaman bats for ‘quiet performer’

‘CM knows critical role Mumbai, State play in economy’

October 11, 2019 01:46 am | Updated 10:12 am IST - Mumbai

Earnest appeal:  Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at a press conference at BJP office in Mumbai on Thursday.

Earnest appeal: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at a press conference at BJP office in Mumbai on Thursday.

Comparing Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s first tenure to that of Vasantrao Naik, Maharashtra’s longest-serving chief minister, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said the Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena government has done a good job of meeting Mumbai and Maharashtra’s challenges and should get a fresh term.

“For a State that so desperately needed water in all its villages, for cultivating the fields, the Jalyukt Shivar that the CM led from the front made a lot of difference. There is, of course, a lot more work still to be done,” Ms. Sitharaman said at a press conference at the BJP’s State headquarters.

Asked about the spate of farmer suicides despite the claims of improved irrigation, Ms. Sitharaman said it is ‘absolutely heartbreaking’ each time a farmer ends his or her life.

“Every State government and the Central government is seized of the tragedy of the situation. But when I said the Fadnavis government has done well, it’s because they have reached so many villages that hadn’t even got water. When the Narendra Modi government came in 2014, one of the earliest things we had to do was send trains with water up to Latur, I think,” she said. Things are definitely better since then, and electing Mr. Fadnavis and the BJP-Shiv Sena government again is important to take these initiatives forward, the minister said.

Lauding the CM for keeping Mumbai “absolutely peaceful” during his five years in office, Ms. Sitharaman said, “For a vibrant city like Mumbai that is virtually the heartbeat of the Indian economy, for a CM to be conscious of the critical role that the city and the State play in the Indian economy, to have governed with peace, is a very big plus point for a party led by the CM going into elections. That itself is one thing I will draw your attention to, in favour of Mr Fadnavis and his team.”

Moreover, the State government had been taking a lot of initiatives to make sure the momentum that Maharashtra provides for the national economy in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors persist. Many impactful schemes have been taken up for all the districts in the State, and the Chief Minister ably addressed the concerns of different communities that are very vocal in Maharashtra, Ms. Sitharaman said.

“I would only say, for the first time after a long time, has there been a CM who remained and governed effectively in power for five complete years. I am told this is after a very long time, the last one being Vasantrao Naik. So we are going into an Assembly election with a CM who has been very quietly and effectively performing his duties,” the Union minister said. Mr. Naik was Maharashtra's CM from 1963 to 1975.

On concerns about unemployment and industries shutting down in the State, the Finance Minister said the government is working on interventions for every sector that is facing stress since the Union Budget was presented in July. “Wherever a sector needed interventions, we have been announcing every week, without hesitation. That effort is still under way. About the economy, we are not even thinking twice and doing whatever it takes,” she said.

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