Maharashtra chief minister and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday took a dig at the Central government on various issues and demanded that the government either fix the problems associated with the GST regime or scrap the new taxing system. Speaking at Shiv Sena’s annual Dussehra rally from the Savarkar Memorial auditorium, the chief minister said: “I feel that the GST system has failed, and I appeal to all Chief Ministers of the country to come forward to discuss this. I feel that the Prime Minister should accept the lacunae in the GST system … The country is not the property of one political party.” It needs to be mentioned that the Centre has owed Maharashtra Rs. 38,000 crore in GST dues.
He also charged the government over the mishandling of the Corona Virus pandemic and even went on to say that the BJP leadership was playing politics over the disease. Speaking on the issue, he elaborated: “Whatever is happening in the country is very strange. The Covid-19 crisis has disrupted economies across the world. At such a time, if the BJP is more interested in toppling governments instead of paying attention to the country’s economy, then I think we are inviting anarchy.”
He also talked about the departure of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), one of the oldest allies of the BJP, from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) over the issue of farm laws.
He also accused the Central leadership of being biased towards some states in a reference to the BJP’s election promise of providing free Covid-19 vaccine in Bihar.
Uddhav also touched upon the issue of secularism and said that Shiv Sena’s Hindutva was not about clanging bells and utensils. It was about nationalism, he asserted. It needs to be mentioned that Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had recently written to Thackeray demanding that the places of worship be opened up in the state. He had also mockingly asked the chief minister whether he had turned “secular”.
