Nagpur/Pune: After Shiv Sena’s ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ and Bharatiya Janata Party’s ‘Mahajanadesh Yatra’, opposition Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) hit the streets with its ‘ShivSwarajya Yatra’ on Tuesday, August 6.
The ‘ShivSwarajya Yatra’ was kicked off from the historic Shivneri Fort, the birthplace of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, in Pune’s Junnar tehsil. NCP state unit president Jayant Patil said on Saturday.
“The NCP’s Yatra has been aimed at exposing the BJP-Shiv Sena Government’s failures to fulfil the promises made five years ago. Be it farmers or workers or youth or women, it has failed everyone on every count. Instead of working to fulfil the aspirations of the people, the ruling coalition parties have already gone on the campaign mode and are busy organising Yatras,” said senior NCP leaders while addressing public meeting held to mark the starting of ‘Shiv Swarajya Yatra.
Senior party leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal said that the BJP-Shiv Sena had announced farm loan waiver scheme in the name of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj but how many people got benefits of it? “Had Shivaji Maharaj been alive today, he would have shown right place to all these BJP-Shiv Sena leaders in his own way,” Bhujbal said.
Another senior leader of party, Ajit Pawar slammed the State Government for false promises. The Fadnavis Government has abysmally failed to create two crore jobs every year as was promised.
NCP state unit chief Jayant Patil said that the ShivSwarajya Yatra will highlight major lapses and failures of the BJP led government in the state. The party will reveal a strategy for New Maharashtra. The party proposes to provide 75% reservation to sons of the soil in government and private jobs, release an innovative scheme to attract investment and boost job creation. Besides, the party will offer a slew of schemes to address farm crisis and boost production and farmers income,’ Patil said.
Patil further said NCP plans to aggressively take up range of issues including agrarian crisis, slow pace of implementation of crop waiver scheme, slowdown in economy, growing unemployment during the five year tenure of the BJP led government in the state. At the same time, the party will offer a roadmap to spur the state’s economic growth during the 23-day campaign.
The attraction of ShivSwarajya Yatra was the reel life Chhatrapati Shivaji and NCP MP from Shirur, Amol Kolhe who led the yatra with Udayanraje Bhosale, a descendent of Chhatrapati Shivaji and party MP from Satara, being the star campaigner. The yatra also aims to instil confidence among party workers, and will kick start the NCP’s election campaign.
During the launch of the Yatra, other party leaders including Leader of Opposition in Legislative Council Dhananjay Munde, Youth State President Mehboob Sheikh, former Speaker Dilip Walse Patil, Women’s Cell National President Faujiya Khan, MLA Vidya Chavan, Student Wing President Ajinkyarana Patil, State Women’s Cell President Rupali Chakankar and other leaders were present.
