Shiv Sena attacks Centre again, says economy declining, rate of unemployment at an all-time high

MUMBAI: After accusing the Narendra Modi-led NDA government of ignoring the problems being faced by the farmers of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray's party has yet again attacked the Centre over economic slowdown and the high rate of unemployment.

In a strongly-worded editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana, Shiv Sena said that the Indin economy was in a very bad phase today. The Sena editorial stated that the economic growth rate has declined to the lowest level in the past 15 years despite tall claims made by the Centre.

"Today, our country is facing an economic slowdown. In the market, there is no excitement at all. Due to slowdown, the business is less by 30 to 40 percent," the Sena editorial said.

Citing the CMIE report, the Maharashtra-based party expressed grave concerns over the rising rate of unemployment in the country. Training guns at the Centre, the party claimed that the rate of unemployment was highest in the past 45 years.

The party also highlighted the issue of job losses across the country and said, "Factories and industries are being shut down. Employment is not there. People are losing jobs."

The Centre has miserably failed to create jobs and a large number of educated youths are failing to get suitable employment, it added.

Further exposing the government, the Sena editorial also claimed that the banking sector is going through a bad phase. Most of the major banks have high debts and the non-performing assets of these banking institutions have risen unprecedently.

Referring to Centre's recent decision to sell majority stake in non-performing PSUs, the Shiv Sena said that today, the Navratnas, PSUs and the government sector undertakings are waiting to get a ''booster dose'' from the government to improve their condition.

Quoting former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who had repeatedly advised the Centre to take immediate steps to wrest decline in the economy, the Sena editorial said that despite concerns expressed by the economists, the government continues to maintain that the ''economy is robust and strong.

The Sena editorial concluding by asking as to when the Modi government will rise to take effective steps to strengthen the declining economy.

Shiv Sena, which has parted ways with its longtime NDA ally BJP due to bitter differences over power-sharing in Maharashtra, had earlier cornered the saffron party over the economic slump in the country.

A day after Diwali, the party wrote in Saamana about how economic slowdown has been affecting farmers and conning people.

The Shiv Sena said that even though the monsoons are over, it is still raining heavily at many places causing heavy losses to farmers.

The editorial also mentioned Demonetisation and the GST and said, "Demonetisation and GST are causing more problems to the country's economy. It was said that it will improve our economy but it is now having a reverse effect."

Taking a dig at the government's move of withdrawing money from the RBI reserves, the Shiv Sena said, "Banks are getting bankrupt. Peoples' pockets are empty so is the government's coffers. Therefore, reserved money from the RBI was taken out."