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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Uddhav tears into BJP’s claim

Mumbai:  Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday launched a blistering, wide-ranging attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party-led governments at the Centre and in the state, targeting what he termed as a ‘toxic political climate’, rising crimes against women, and a ‘hire-and-fire’ culture hurting workers. Addressing the 58th annual general meeting of the Bharatiya Kamgar Sena, Thackeray delivered a strong political cocktail laced with jibes, concerns over labour rights, women’s...

Uddhav tears into BJP’s claim

Mumbai:  Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday launched a blistering, wide-ranging attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party-led governments at the Centre and in the state, targeting what he termed as a ‘toxic political climate’, rising crimes against women, and a ‘hire-and-fire’ culture hurting workers. Addressing the 58th annual general meeting of the Bharatiya Kamgar Sena, Thackeray delivered a strong political cocktail laced with jibes, concerns over labour rights, women’s issues, unemployment, and governance priorities. Attacking Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for his recent remarks about ‘tearing the burqas’ of the Opposition, Thackeray questioned sarcastically: “We are Hindus… So what ‘burqas’ are you going to rip off? Were you even present in the Lok Sabha?” Referring to atrocities on women, Thackeray sharply questioned the government’s priorities saying while the CM is campaigning in other states, women are being molested right here, fake babas are multiplying and drug rackets are flourishing in the state. On BJP’s claims of commitment to women’s reservation, the SS (UBT) chief asked “why the President (Droupadi Murmu) was not invited to key national events such as the inauguration of the new Parliament building or the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya”. “This is not a new issue. We are ready… Implement women’s reservation today,” Thackeray asserted. Veering to national politics, Thackeray said that the BJP today lacks personalities of (the late) Arun Jaitley’s stature, and described West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee as “a fighting tigress who is bound to win”. He claimed that ‘two lakh CRPF personnel’ were deployed in West Bengal while barely 20,000 were stationed in the violence-hit Manipur. “Security forces were once used by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel for integrating states into the Union, but now they are being used to win elections,” Thackeray said. On the alleged misuse of central security agencies, Thackeray dared the BJP to ‘set aside the CBI and ED’ and face the elections in a fair fight. “You deploy security forces to ensure your party wins as you lack the capability to win on your own merits, or unleash the ED-CBI. It is better to live like a tiger for one day than as a goat for 100 days,” said Thackeray. Alluding to the debates triggered by RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat’s views on population, he asked: “Encouraging more children is fine - but who will feed them? What about unemployment problems?” Thackeray expressed concerns over delimitation based on population, warning it could skew political representation. “Some states are implementing family planning programmes quite effectively… Is practicing family planning now considered a crime?” Turning to the distress faced by the working classes, he flayed the current employment model as a ‘constant cycle of hire-and-fire’, with the government ignoring the security of workers. “Why are workers being compelled to leave the state, or even the country, for employment. They are the architects of the nation’s destiny. Now reports emerge that workers from north India are being employed in Dubai. The country is calling them to ‘return’. They ignored the calls, preferring to die by a bomb rather than returning to India only to die of unemployment,” said Thackeray, in a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He compared the current bout of global tensions, including the ongoing Iran-United States war, as a repetitive spectacle, triggering multi-fold domestic economic anxieties.

Omar welcomes Indus Water Treaty suspension, calls it “most unfair document” for J&K



SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday welcomed the Central government’s decision to suspend the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan following the deadly Pahalgam attack that claimed 26 lives. He also referred to the treaty as the “most unfair document” for the people of J&K.


“The Government of India has taken some steps. As far as Jammu and Kashmir is concerned, let’s be honest. We have never been in favour of the Indus Waters Treaty. We have always believed it to be the most unfair document to people of J&K,” Abdullah told reporters in Srinagar after meeting representatives from the tourism, trade, and industry sectors. However, he noted that the long-term impact of this move is still uncertain.


The IWT suspension is part of India’s response to the brutal attack. Other actions include expelling Pakistani military attaches and shutting down the Attari land-transit point immediately.


When questioned about the impact of the April 22 attack on the region’s tourism industry, Abdullah dismissed concerns about monetary losses. “At this juncture, we are not counting rupees or paisa. Not one of the businessmen or stakeholders in the tourism industry who attended the meeting lamented the loss of business. Not one of them expressed any concern about what would happen to them.”


“Right now, our priority is to express solidarity with the bereaved,” he said, adding, “At some point in future, we may sit down to discuss the financial implications (of the attack) on J&K’s economy. But not a single stakeholder present in the meeting raised a demand for monetary relief for the losses they are suffering.”


Omar described the tourist exodus from J&K after the massacre as “heartbreaking”. The future of the Valley’s tourism sector remains uncertain, with widespread trip cancellations following the attack.

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