Soaring GDP can’t hide rupee fall, joblessness: Shiv Sena(UBT) in ‘Saamana’
Mumbai: The Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the Modi government, accusing the Centre of celebrating GDP metrics while ignoring ground-level economic distress.
Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s social media celebratory post following a reported 7.8 per cent quarterly GDP growth rate, the Thackeray camp, in an editorial in the party’s mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, labelled the government’s stance as “grandstanding” detached from the struggles of ordinary citizens. “If the nation is reaching unprecedented heights of progress, the fundamental question remains why must 85 crore citizens depend on free food grains just to survive?” it asked.
The Thackeray camp remarked that a fluctuating or inflated GDP figure holds little meaning for the ordinary public. A tragic toll of over 7,000 farmer suicides within a single year paints a starkly different picture of the nation’s economic health.
The editorial said that economic strain extends deep into state administration. In Maharashtra, unpaid government bills for contractors have surpassed Rs 90,000 crore, driving 17 contractors to suicide under financial ruin. While state treasuries run dry, the PM CARES Fund holds an unspent balance of Rs 10,000 crore — raising critical questions as to why these funds remain unutilised for poor and struggling citizens while elite industrial fortunes continue to surge.
The editorial claimed that severe inflation is scorching domestic households. Right ahead of the upcoming festive season, widespread price hikes took effect on September 1, leaving citizens unprepared for escalating living costs. The Thackeray camp outlined stark economic contradictions across key indicators.
“Milk prices in Mumbai jumped by Rs 9-10 per litre on September 1. Jaggery prices have escalated by 25 per cent, while onion prices have crossed Rs 50 per kg. CNG prices have escalated alongside domestic PNG gas (up by Re 1 per unit). Hikes across petrol, diesel, and CNG are driving up auto-rickshaw and taxi fares nationwide. Driven by sugar and milk inflation, even a basic ‘cutting tea’ now costs Rs 13, directly impacting lower-income daily wage earners,” said the editorial.
On the agricultural front, the editorial pointed out that growth has decelerated from 4.4 per cent down to 3.6 per cent. A month-long dry spell in monsoon rainfall has cast severe uncertainty over the Kharif cropping season, directly threatening rural livelihoods.
“If the nation is reaching unprecedented heights of progress, fundamental questions remain: why must 85 crore citizens depend on 10 kg of free food grain to get by?” asked the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena.
The editorial said that a continuously falling Rupee alongside rising unemployment figures highlight deep systemic vulnerabilities. Touting statistical GDP growth offers little relief to millions facing the daily fire of inflation. The Thackeray-led party emphasised that statistical economic claims fail to mask a falling Indian Rupee and rising unemployment rates.
The editorial concluded that while elite industrial fortunes continue to surge, millions of households are left to face the escalating burden of inflation and economic instability.