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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Raj Thackeray seeks ‘accountability’

Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for “austerity” triggered a blistering political broadside from Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, who accused the Centre of hypocrisy, economic mismanagement, reckless political extravagance and attempting to shift the burden of its failures onto ordinary citizens. In a scathing statement, Raj questioned the moral authority of the PM to preach sacrifices to the country while the ruling establishment indulges in lavish political...

Raj Thackeray seeks ‘accountability’

Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for “austerity” triggered a blistering political broadside from Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, who accused the Centre of hypocrisy, economic mismanagement, reckless political extravagance and attempting to shift the burden of its failures onto ordinary citizens. In a scathing statement, Raj questioned the moral authority of the PM to preach sacrifices to the country while the ruling establishment indulges in lavish political roadshows, massive convoys, flower-shower spectacles, expensive election campaigns across the country and high-profile foreign trips. On the PM’s recent multi-pronged appeal asking Indians to slash gold purchases and fuel consumption, avoid foreign travel, adopt electric vehicles or adopt Work From Home, Raj said the government was willy-nilly readying the country for an impending economic crisis but refusing to accept the blame for creating it. “Will you acknowledge that a mistake was made by you, apologise for it, and pledge that henceforth, neither you nor anyone else will engage in such conduct? Why should the public be made to carry the financial load for your blunders?” demanded Raj sharply. Sudden Warnings The MNS chief argued that high crude oil prices cannot be blamed for the present economic distress, as there were many precedents in the recent past when global crude rates hovered in the $90-$100 / barrel range. He listed the scenario witnessed during the 2008 recession, the Arab Spring (2011-2012), again in 2013-2014, and finally when the OPEC cut production (2022-2023) to buttress his contentions. However, in those crises, neither ex-PM Manmohan Singh nor Modi himself issued such austerity appeals, and wondered “why such warnings were suddenly being sounded now” for the country. He demanded answers over the high fuel prices in India owing to taxes, and alleged that even when crude oil prices had plummeted to $ 60-$ 65, petrol and diesel were sold at exorbitant rates to Indians. “Lakhs of crores of rupees were collected from people - where did that money go? What happened to it?” Raj asked bluntly, in what is viewed as his fiercest attack on the government till date. Dual Face Targeting the Bharatiya Janata Party’s ‘dual standards’, Raj accused it of ridiculing ‘Revdi culture’ publicly while simultaneously doling out massive freebies during Assembly elections in West Bengal, Bihar and Maharashtra to lure voters. “The ‘Ladki Bahin’ before the Maharashtra 2024 Assembly elections has brought the state economy on the verge of collapse. Rather than truly empowering women, they were given meagre sums of money which was again clawed back through high inflation. If the state and national economies are in such a dire condition, will the PM now firmly declare a ban on all such politically motivated freebies,” asked Raj. He slammed the BJP for wasting enormous quantities of fuel during the recent poll campaigns in four states to ferry crowds for mega-rallies, but citizens are now being advised to sacrifice their fuel consumption. Hike in Offing Raj said with WFH and EV appeals, if the government was mentally preparing the people for another steep hike in fuel prices, the masses would anyway be compelled to reduce consumption as they can no longer afford it. He said it is time to admit that while the Indian economy is outwardly robust, inwardly fragile, the government should not exploit the Iran-Israel-US war as a convenient scapegoat to divert attention. “In your tenure, the Indian Rupee (INR) was devalued significantly, why? In the past 10 years, three different RBI Governors have quit, what was the reason, tell the nation. Ex-RBI Governor and then PM Manmohan Singh, himself a renowned economist, held serious discussions with financial experts and heeded them. We have heard all your ‘Mann Ki Baat’, now you should listen to the genuine economic masters and the masses,” Raj exhorted. Calling upon the PM to convene a Parliament special session to inform the country on the real state of the economy and concrete measures to tackle the challenges, Raj reminded the government that “we are not your enemies, but asking questions is our duty.” NCP (SP) gallops to austerity A political protest by the Nationalist Congress Party (SP) against the government’s austerity drive, became something of a traffic-stopper in Thane. Discarding air-conditioned SUVs or sedans, NCP (SP) General Secretary Dr Jitendra Awhad came astride a snow-white horse, while some other party leaders trailed on a horse-drawn ‘tanga’ and a ‘bail-gadi’ (bullock cart), raising anti-government slogans. “This is what we will come to soon… The economic crises will worsen in the coming days. We may be forced to gallop to Mantralaya or other places on horses and in carts. The government’s reverse development model will take us 2000-years back,” warned Dr. Awhad, as the afternoon traffic halted and hundreds crowded for a glimpse of the mini-procession. Patting his mount, he predicted a massive hike in fuel prices and other essentials, commuting on beasts of burden, or worse. Even if people shifted to animal transport, he wondered how they would feed their four-legged creatures with minimal resources. A party worker carried a placard proclaiming: “Next Budget: One Horse Per Family Scheme”, as some pedestrians wondered if the authorities would introduce exclusive ‘bullock cart or horse-tanga lanes” on the roads, or whether FASTag would be compulsory for these creatures. Pawar demands all-party meet Amid a nationwide furore over the Centre’s austerity appeals and concerns over global economic stability, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) President Sharad Pawar urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the country’s economy and evolving international challenges. Pawar said that the PM’s recent announcements - made in view of the ‘unstable and warlike situation’ in the Middle East - could have ‘far-reaching consequences’ on the Indian economy and has already triggered anxiety among ordinary citizens, industry stakeholders and investors alike. “The sudden nature of these announcements has created an atmosphere of unease among the common people, the industry-business sector as well as investors. This situation is certainly a cause for concern,” Pawar said. The NCP (SP) supremo’s appeal came against the backdrop of rising tensions owing to the Middle-East war, fears of escalating crude oil prices, the volatility in global markets coupled with Modi’s call urging citizens' restraint by embracing austerity measures. The PM’s wide-ranging appeal includes reducing fuel consumption, slashing gold purchases for a year, avoiding foreign travel, opting for electric vehicles and adopting Work From Home – triggering a nation-wide debate since the past two days. The NCP (SP) supremo emphasised that the gravity of the prevailing international situation called for a more ‘consultative and inclusive approach’ from the Bharatiya Janata Party government to build a consensus on economic and policy responses. “Given the current international situation, the central government must prioritize greater sensitivity and broad consultations. Considering the seriousness of this issue, the PM should take the lead to call an all-party meeting as involving leaders from all political parties in the decision-making process on matters of national interest is extremely essential for the welfare of the country,” urged Pawar. Besides the political consultations, the ex-union minister exhorted the PM for urgent engagement with economists, industrialists and domain experts to thoroughly review and assess the potential fallout of international developments on India’s economy. Such a comprehensive discussion on future economic policies was crucially required to reassure the public and restore investor confidence. “Building confidence and stability among the people of the country should be the government’s topmost priority in the current circumstances. This is our firm stand,” Pawar asserted.

Seeking Urban Validation

The ruling Congress faces an acid test in the high-stakes Telangana civic polls.

Telangana
Telangana

While the noise in Telangana’s urban local body elections has subsided and the people have cast their votes, the stakes have only sharpened further. The fate of 3,000 municipal seats across 116 towns and seven corporations will be decided. On February 13. This time, the Telangana civic poll contest, like that of Maharashtra, is about political momentum in a state still adjusting to the upheavals of 2023.


For the ruling Congress, the vote is an early verdict on its two-year-old government in the State. It is also a test of whether the party’s dramatic rural comeback can be replicated in cities. Telangana’s political geography is lopsided: of its 119 assembly seats, 80 are rural. It was there that the Congress staged its revival in 2023, reducing the once-dominant Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) to just 19 rural seats from 62 five years earlier. Yet the cities told a different story. In Hyderabad, the BRS retained its urban heft while the Congress failed to win a single assembly seat.


That imbalance haunts the Congress now. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has framed the civic polls as a referendum on welfare schemes and administrative rectitude, repeatedly accusing the previous BRS regime of having “looted” the state. He has also sought to reassure minorities by committing to protect the 4 percent reservation for OBC Muslims. But the subtext is clearer than the slogans: unless the Congress can break into urban Telangana, its grip on power will remain structurally fragile. Party insiders privately acknowledge that a strong showing is essential ahead of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections, which loom later this year.


For the BRS, these polls are existential. The party that once dominated Telangana politics is still struggling to recalibrate after its 2023 defeat. Its patriarch, K. Chandrashekar Rao, has retreated from the public gaze, depriving the party of its most formidable campaigner. The burden has fallen on his son and heir, K. T. Rama Rao (KTR), whose aggressive tone marks a departure from his earlier technocratic image. The civic polls will test whether he can convert visibility into authority.


Complicating matters are the party’s internal fissures. The defection last year of KCR’s daughter, K. Kavitha, who has since accused the leadership of illicit enrichment, has dented the party’s aura of cohesion, even if she has stopped short of forming a rival outfit. Still, writing off the BRS would be premature. Unlike during its decade in power, when the Congress often appeared comatose, BRS leaders have been conspicuously active on the ground, probing administrative lapses and amplifying urban discontent.


The Bharatiya Janata Party, meanwhile, sees opportunity in the turbulence. Having won eight of Telangana’s 17 parliamentary seats in 2024 (mostly in urban constituencies) it hopes to translate its national gains into municipal footholds. Its campaign has leaned heavily on Hindutva, with senior leaders alleging that Hindus were being taken for granted under Congress rule. Yet the BJP’s ambitions are constrained. Its NDA ally, the Jana Sena Party, has fielded hundreds of candidates, muddying arithmetic and message alike. Even so, party strategists calculate that a fragmented opposition and latent anti-incumbency could expand their modest municipal presence.


Hovering at the margins, yet indispensable in Hyderabad, is the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen. Asaduddin Owaisi’s party has avoided confrontation with the Congress, speaking instead of the need for independent Muslim leadership and hinting at post-poll arrangements. In a fractured verdict, its councillors could once again play kingmaker.


A Congress surge in the results would validate its rural mandate in the Assembly polls in the urban areas as well. A BRS revival would signal that the party still has clout in the cities it built its power on. BJP gains would confirm Telangana as an emerging three-cornered contest rather than a bipolar one.


Either way, the intense campaigning for the Telangana civic polls prove that they are nothing short of a dress rehearsal for the state’s political future.

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