NCP to hold week-long protests against Maha govt from Oct 25

Mumbai, Oct 8: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will hold week-long protests to highlight "failures" of the BJP-led Maharashtra government which will culminate with a rally of party chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai on October 31.

The Devendra Fadnavis government completes a year in office on October 31. Describing the government as "anti-farmer" and without any vision for development, Maharashtra NCP chief Sunil Tatkare today said the party has decided to hold protests, demonstrations against the government for its all round failures from October 25.

"The agitation will culminate in Mumbai with our party chief Sharad Pawar addressing a public meeting at Jamboree Maidan, Worli on October 31," Tatkare said.

Rubbishing charge that his party was "soft" on the government, Tatkare said it had performed role of opposition seriously.

"We had offered outside support to the BJP after the assembly polls because the state could not afford a fresh poll due to the hung assembly. But, after Shiv Sena joined the government, it is now in comfortable majority," he said.

Tatkare said the government had refused to accept the repeated demands for a loan waiver to drought hit farmers. "After presenting its first deficit budget in March, the government brought supplementary demands worth Rs 20,000 crore in the monsoon session to fulfil its populist promises of Local Body Tax and scrapping of toll.

Due to fiscal mismanagement, the government has hiked fuel prices.

This will result in spiralling prices," Tatkare said, adding prices of essential commodities have already skyrocketed.

Asked about the party's alliance with Congress for the upcoming Kalyan Dombivali Municipal Corporation (KDMC) polls, Tatkare said talks are on between the two parties.

The voting for KDMC on polls is slated for November 1. "Our leadership has given directives to ensure pre-poll alliance with Congress for the nagar parishad and nagar panchayat polls to be held on the same day. Discussions with the local Congress units are on," he said.

PTI