Centre’s stimulus package ignore Maharashtra state’s tourism sector needs: Ruling party

MUMBAI, May 20, 2020, Zee News. Maharashtra’s ruling party Shiv Sena has yet against made a blistering attack on the Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre for ignoring the state. In a strongly worded editorial published in its mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ on Wednesday, the party said that the Narendra Modi government gave nothing to bring the state’s tourism sector back on track, Zee News reported.

The party said that due to coronavirus pandemic, the tourism and the hotel sector in the state have been completely ruined. Hoteliers and those in the hospitality industry in Mumbai, Matheran, Mahabaleshwar, Lonavala-Khandala and Alibagh have suffered the most due to the global coronavirus pandemic.

The ‘Saamana’ editorial went on to elaborate that the state of Maharashtra is under heavy economic pressure and the union government should take the responsibility to support it, given that the state contributed much in terms of taxes to the Centre during better times.

The party further alleged that the Modi government gave nothing to help the hospitality and the tourism sector of Maharashtra in its recently announced Rs 20 lakh crore ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ package.

It said that the environment is not conducive for doing business under the present Modi regime. Here, those making profits are seen as dacoits and robbers. The party asked it a crime to make a profit?

It said that bringing the loss-making tourism industry in the state and reinvigorating the hospitality sector is now a big challenge for the Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

The Saamana editorial also blamed the Modi government for demonetisation which dealt a big blow to small traders and mid-level businessmen. The party expressed hope that due to the ‘people-friendly’ and transparent policies of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, Maharashtra will soon rise from current economic turbulence.

The editorial also sounded optimism that the coronavirus pandemic will end before Monsoon and the economic activities will soon gain momentum and Maharashtra will soon retain its old glory of being a prosperous state.

The Shiv Sena had earlier made an assault at the Narendra Modi-led central government over its handling of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak, that is rapidly spreading throughout India like wildfire. The editorial demanded that the Centre declares a financial package from 10% of the country’s GDP to deal with the situation.

The Shiv Sena, in the editorial, cited Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar’s letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in which the former had sought a financial package for Maharashtra and said that the Centre should take financial guardianship of its states at this hour.