The Shiv Sena attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Rs 11,300-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam. The Sena in an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana alleged that Nirav Modi, who is at the centre of the scandal, had been a ‘partner’ of the BJP and helped it collect funds for elections.
Senior Sena leaders who spoke to IndiaChimes.com in Mumbai claimed that Nirav Modi directly and indirectly contributed Rs 250 crore to the BJP coffers over the last 4 years, since January 2014 and helped fund the BJP poll campaign blitz in 2014 that saw the party come to a landslide victory. Sena leaders were openly critical of the Prime Minister and his handling of the economy, stating that the big con men have got away easily, but the poor are burdened with taxes and levies.
Sena leaders took pains to point out that Nirav Modi along with about 5-6 other businessmen were instrumental in bankrolling the BJP party since 2014, since the party projected Narendra Modi as the PM candidate and launched a multi-crore media campaign. Modi was the one who struck the deal with these 5-6 businessmen and top industrialists including Adani, Ambani and others to fund the BJP campaign, promising them massive sops if he became the PM, claimed Sena leaders in Mumbai.
‘BJP’s partner’
The Uddhav Thackeray-led party, a BJP ally in Maharashtra, said the PNB scam had reduced to tatters Prime Minister Modi’s promise of putting an end to corruption in the country. The editorial said, “It has come to light that Nirav Modi left the country in January. However, he was seen with the Prime Minister in Davos just a few weeks ago [during the World Economic Forum]. Nirav Modi has been a partner of the BJP and was at the forefront in helping the BJP collect funds for their elections.”
The Sena said it would not allege that the diamond trader had plundered the country with the blessings of BJP leaders. However, the party alleged there were many such Nirav Modis who had been helping the BJP increase its wealth and win many elections.
The editorial said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election slogan ‘Na khaunga, na khane dunga’ proved ineffective in this case. An FIR had been lodged against Nirav earlier. How did he then manage to go to Davos and meet PM Modi, along with other industrialists?”
The editorial said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) swung into action and sealed Nirav Modi’s properties only after he had left the country.
The editorial said that politicians like Chhagan Bhujbal and Lalu Prasad Yadav were behind bars in corruption cases, but liquor baron Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi have fled the country from right under the nose of the government.
It said, “Talks of a corruption-free India and transparent government have been laid bare in just three years. Farmers are committing suicide as they cannot repay their debts of Rs 100 and Rs 500, but here people have absconded [after swindling] lakhs of crores.”
While politicians like Chhagan Bhujbal and Lalu Prasad Yadav were behind bars in corruption cases, liquor baron Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi fled the country from right under the nose of the government, the Marathi daily added.
“The talks of a corruption-free India and transparent government have been laid bare in just three years. Farmers are committing suicide as they cannot repay their debts of Rs. 100-Rs.500, but here people have absconded (after swindling) lakhs of crores,” it said.
Publicity blitz
The Sena said that the NDA government was being run on advertisements and thousands of crores had been spent on their publicity campaigns. Despite being a member of the BJP-led governments in Maharashtra and at the Centre, the Sena has been critical of the Modi government over several of its policy decisions.
Shiv Sena has alleged that Nirav Modi indirectly funded several of the BJPs private advertisement and social media campaigns and has contributed Rs 125 crore only for the BJP’s ad blitz over the last 3-4 years.
No comments:
Post a Comment