‘Surgical strikes won’t solve unemployment’, says Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut

Sanjay Raut attacked government policies such as demonetisation, the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Make In India and Start Up India.

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut has attacked the Narendra Modi-led central government over the state of India’s economy. In his weekly column in party mouthpiece Saamana, Raut said Modi is a “popular leader,” but recent decisions on Article 370 and surgical strikes are not solutions for rising unemployment.

Raut added that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) , in 2014, had promised to create two crore jobs annually, but over the last year, 1.10 crore people lost jobs. (HT FILE)

He attacked government policies such as demonetisation, the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Make In India and Start Up India.

He said the government is dreaming of becoming a $5-trillion economy while “unemployment and beggars are increasing in the country.” Further, he said the government cannot “blame Pandit Nehru or his policies for the current situation.”

Raut added that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) , in 2014, had promised to create two crore jobs annually, but over the last year, 1.10 crore people lost jobs. “Decisions taken on a whim lead to job losses. This has been proven with demonetisation and, to an extent, the rollout of the GST...Surgical strikes and removing Article 370 are patriotic acts. But providing jobs and saving existing ones is even more patriotic,” Raut wrote his column.

Modi has become popular around the world but if “unemployment keeps rising,” the country will “flare up” with anger while “Modi is on one of his foreign trips,” said Raut.

Raut’s comments come at a time when the Sena has upped its offensive on the BJP ahead of the state Assembly elections. Keshav Upadhye, state BJP spokesperson, said, “Shiv Sena has been critical in the past as well, but despite all this, the alliance happened. We will have an alliance as the chief minister announced.”