Ruling partner Shiv Sena today slammed Maharashtra government's decision to levy an additional surcharge on a host of items including fuel to raise money to tackle the drought situation dubbing it as "pick pocketing", which received instant endorsement from the opposition Congress.
Attacking the decision, taken by the BJP-led government headed by Devendra Fadnavis in which Sena itself is a partner, the party organ "Saamana" said instead of resorting to this drastic step, the state should have sought a financial package from the Centre to tide over the situation.
"We can describe our state of finance in one word-- pickpocketing. Remove a little from somebody's pocket, again remove some from somebody else's pocket and keep them in the treasury. Do we really need a finance minister at the Centre and in the state to do such things?" Sena said.
"By casting a burden of Rs 1,600 crore on people to help farmers, state finance minister (Sudhir Mungantiwar of the BJP) has indulged in pickpocketing ... The only question is, will this really wipe the tears from farmers' eyes? So far, the government has provided Rs 425 crore to help farmers who suffered failure of crops, Rs 690 crore as insurance for crops, Rs 1,000 crore for crop losses, Rs 950 crore to distribute foodgrains at cheap costs," the Sena said.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi is aware of the problems of crisis-hit Bihar and announced a package of Rs 1.25 lakh crore. That is evident from the package he announced for Bihar. A similar concern for drought affected farmers will help mitigate the situation (in Maharashtra). We are only asking what is due to us," the Sena said.
Maharashtra Congress president Ashok Chavan justified Sena's criticism of the hike in fuel prices as an act of "pickpocketing" but reminded the party that it (Sena) is also a partner in the Government.
"Shiv Sena has highlighted our stand that the fuel price hike by Rs 2 per litre is unjustified. But, Shiv Sena should not stop at just criticism," Chavan said.
Lashing out at the government, he said "the fact is that the government has failed to maintain fiscal discipline," he charged.
To raise funds for tackling drought, the state government had last week announced a surcharge of Rs 2 on petrol and diesel while increasing the VAT on liquor, cigarettes and beverages by 5 per cent.
It also imposed a 1.20 per cent surcharge on VAT on gold and diamond jewellery. The additional levy will be in force for five months.
