People awaiting 'acche din', solve farm loan waiver issue: Sena to govt

BJP Minister Chandrakant Patil said that the Sena had made a fool of itself by protesting against the government

The Shiv Sena on Friday said people are still waiting for the 'acche din' promised by the NDA government and criticised a BJP minister in Maharashtra for his comments against the party.

Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil had said earlier this week that the Sena had made "a fool of itself" by taking to the streets against the government of which it is a part.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led party, part of the BJP-headed governments at the Centre and also Maharashtra, had staged protests against inflation and rising fuel prices.

The party rejected Patil's criticism of its protests on key issues.

"Those who feel the Sena has made a mockery of itself are drunk with power. But our feet are firmly on the ground. Will you (Patil) also laugh when we say that people everywhere are laughing today because even after coming to power, acche din' (good days) (promised by the BJP) never came," the Sena said in an editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamana.

If the BJP wants the Sena to stop protesting, it should solve the issues plaguing the poor and farmers, the Marathi daily said.

"Control inflation and cut prices of petrol and diesel. Also, the issue of farm loan waiver has been left hanging. Farmers are finding it difficult to meet the conditions imposed by the government," it added.

The party cited Eknath Khadse, a senior BJP leader who resigned from the state cabinet last year following allegations of graft against him, to caution Patil.

"Chandrakant Patil has good relations with party president Amit Shah and is also a member of the state cabinet. He is also a contender for the chief ministers post.

"But he should take lessons from what happened to Eknath Khadse, who was also a strong contender for the post," the Sena said in the editorial.