MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena on Friday rapped the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party over the recently announced Union budget and the by-election results in Rajasthan in which the BJP lost big.
“The word ‘inflation’ wasn’t mentioned even once while presenting the budget. The Congress government was thrown out of power because of inflation. The new government had promised to tackle inflation and make the lives of the people easier. But after destroying the economy with demonetization, the truth is that the government has nothing to offer to the people,” an editorial in Saamana, the party mouthpiece, noted.
While acknowledging the thrust on the agricultural sector in the budget, the editorial said it was due to the “warning bells sounded by the Gujarat elections”. It also expressed doubts whether the government would implement all the announcements made for the sector.
Meanwhile, speaking to the media in Delhi, party spokesperson Sanjay Raut reaffirmed that the party would not forge an alliance with the BJP in any election. It was Raut who moved a resolution against joining BJP at a recent meeting of the Shiv Sena's national executive, which was unanimously passed.
“Once the arrow has left the bow it doesn’t come back,” he said.
Commenting on the by-election results in Rajasthan, Raut said it indicated that the BJP is in for bigger losses in 2019. “The Gujarat elections were the trailer and the Rajasthan by-polls the interval. Now we will see the entire picture in 2019,” he said.