Congress-NCP leaders lash out at Modi, Fadnavis government

Pawar asks farmers not to cooperate with the government

Rallying from the front: NCP leader Sharad Pawar is flanked by Praful Patel (right), and Congress leader Gulam Nabi Azad at a ‘Jan Akrosh Halla Bol’ morcha on the his birthday in Nagpur on Tuesday.

Senior Congress and Nationalist Congress Party leaders on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the BJP government in Maharashtra and at the Centre as the combined opposition’s Morcha (protest march) drew a large crowd in Nagpur on Tuesday.

The Morcha, held near the State assembly building on the second day of the ongoing Maharashtra Assembly winter session, was the culmination of Maharashtra Congress’s ‘Jan Akrosh’ rallies in various parts of the state and the NCP’s ‘Halla Bol Padyatra’ (long march) from Yavatmal to Nagpur over the State and the Central government’s alleged apathy towards Maharashtra’s farmers.

The Peasants and Workers Party, the Samajwadi party and some RPI factions also participated in the Morcha.

The NCP president Sharad Pawar, who participated in the Morcha despite being unwell, appealed to the farmers of the State to stop paying electric bills and other debt of the government societies. “This government has destroyed people’s lives, forcibly collected bills from us and made no efforts to help us. Take a decision today that you will not cooperate with this government at all,” Mr. Pawar told the crowd.

In support of Manmohan Singh

The NCP chief also came in support of

former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the

allegations leveled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently during the ongoing Gujarat election campaign.

“No one can doubt Manmohan Singh’s integrity. Those who are making allegations against him should be ashamed of themselves. This Prime Minister [Modi] has damaged India and Maharashtra’s traditions and he mentioned Pakistan during the campaign only to avoid the anger of common people on his government. When he was the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh and I had rushed to Vidarbha to understand the farmers’ plight in the region and had declared an immediate loan waiver. But the current chief minister of Maharashtra is only talking about loan waiver since [sic] last six months,” the NCP chief pointed out.

Senior Congress leader and the leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mr.Gulam Nabi Azad alleged the state governments of the BJP were being used as “election machinery” for the party rather than working for the welfare of the people.

Possibility of a merger

Mr. Azad also expressed a possibility that the Congress and the NCP can merge in future.

“The Congress and the NCP were one earlier and who knows, they can come together again. We have same ideology and thinking. The anger [of people today] is directed at the BJP because it came to power by making false promises. The BJP makes hollow promises and forgets which is why farmers are forced to kill themselves. The Prime Minister does not sit in his office. He is either in a foreign country or campaigning in elections. He has lowered the dignity of the office of prime minister by making baseless allegations against the former PM, the army chief, and others. If you go to BJP, you are called a patriot. If you are not with the BJP, you are either termed a terrorist or Pakistani,” Mr. Azad alleged.

‘Man Ki Bat’ but no ‘Kam Ki Bat’

Former Maharashtra CM and the state Congress president Mr. Ashok Chavan accused the BJP of being “a convincing habitual liar”.

“Every section of society is facing difficulties under the BJP rule. There are only two beneficiaries of this dispensation. First is (Prime Minister) Modi and second is (Chief Minister) Fadnavis. They only do ‘Man Ki Bat’ but no ‘Kam Ki Bat’. The social media is facing restriction and media is facing pressure. There is an undeclared Emergency [in the country]. Over 1300 schools have been shut down in Maharashtra but liquor shops are still open. Maharashtra now leads in crime,” Mr.Chavan said. He also claimed that his party was going to form the government in Gujarat.

The Congress general secretary in charge of Maharashtra Mr. Mohan Prakash attacked the RSS and alleged that the fight was between [Gandhi’s] white caps and [RSS’s] black caps.

“They [RSS] came only till full pant from half pant in last 60 years. They implemented the GST and demonetisation to crush Indian economy under pressure from foreign countries,” the Congress leader said.

Senior NCP leader Praful Patel said that there was a possibility of “change” in Gujarat which may be repeated elsewhere in 2019.