Uddhav takes another dig at Modi over demonetisation

Speaking at a rally in north Maharasthra on Tuesday, Sena chief questioned what should be done once 50 days, which the PM had sought while implementing demonetisation, are over...

As the 50-day deadline set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the troubles due to demonetisation to subside draws closer, the Shiv Sena, a component of the Modi government, renewed its criticism of the government’s move, asking what the nation should do after December 30.

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray addresses a party rally in Mumbai. (Agencies)

Over the past couple of days, the party has been targeting the demonetization move. Speaking at a rally in Dhule in north Maharashtra, on Tuesday, Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray said, “Modi had said give me 50 days or else give me whiplashes. Fifty days are about to get over on December 30. What should we do on the 31st?”

A day later, the party in its mouthpiece Saamana, said that Modi implemented demonetisation to get black money stashed overseas back in the country, but not even a single such penny has come back until now. “Even domestically, black money hoarders didn’t have to suffer even a rupee worth of losses. But the common man immensely suffered in this entire situation,” read an article in Saamana on Thursday.

The party, which has been constantly criticizing the sudden decommissioning of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination currency notes, creating a cash crunch and inconveniencing people, said, “It seems like the loopholes in the law are deliberately kept for the rich, whereas the common man is supposed to be crushed under the weight of the same law.”

Despite being allies at the Centre and the state, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena have had choppy relations of late, with the tie-up souring even more closer to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls scheduled for February 2017.