Raj Thackeray has criticised the excessive fuel consumption during recent Indian election campaigns, questioning whether austerity measures are unfairly targeted at the common citizen while politicians continue extravagant practices.
Key Points
- Raj Thackeray questions the fuel consumption during election campaigns involving thousands of vehicles and roadshows.
- Thackeray asks why the Prime Minister didn't address fuel consumption during massive election campaigns.
- He points out that high fuel prices persisted even when global crude prices were low due to heavy taxation.
- He suggests the government should consult economists and explain the current economic situation transparently.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray on Tuesday asked if austerity was meant to be practiced only by common people and flagged the fuel consumption during the recent election campaigns where thousands of cars were used and roadshows were conducted.
In a post on Facebook after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an appeal to people to reduce fuel consumption and use public transport among other things, Thackeray said the prime minister and senior leaders continue to travel across the country with massive convoys.
"They also hold roadshows, use helicopters, receive flower showers, and conduct extravagant political campaigns," the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief added.
"Will the prime minister admit that 'such political excesses were our mistake, and all of us including me will not repeat them'? Why should the common man suffer for your mistakes? Is austerity meant only for citizens and never for the political class?" Thackeray asked.
Thackeray on Crude Oil Prices and Taxation
He also said that crude oil prices were hovering around USD 90-100 per barrel but this was not the first time the world had seen such a situation.
Crude prices touched these levels during the 2008 financial crisis, the Arab Spring of 2011, during 2013-14 phase when the BJP aggressively attacked the UPA over domestic fuel pries, and again during the OPEC production cuts in 2022-23, Thackeray said.
"The PM asked people to reduce fuel consumption, but why didn't this wisdom emerge during the massive election campaigns involving thousands of vehicles, endless roadshows and the transportation of lakhs of supporters across states like West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Kerala? That itself would have burnt crores of litres of petrol and diesel," he said.
Such situations had arisen during the tenure of Dr Manmohan Singh and also during Modi's previous term, the MNS chief said.
But Dr Singh did not ask people to stop travelling abroad and Modi himself did not make such appeals earlier, he said.
Government Revenue and Economic Concerns
When global crude prices had fallen to nearly USD 60-65 per barrel, Indian consumers still continued to pay extremely high prices for petrol and diesel because of heavy taxation and the government earned lakhs of crores of rupees, Thackeray said, asking "where did that money go."
"Tell the nation what concrete steps the government plans to take. Call a special session of Parliament if needed, which is anyway done on a whim nowadays. Explain transparently how the country ended up in this situation and how the government plans to navigate through it," Thackeray further said.
The economy appears strong on the surface but is vulnerable underneath and the government should not blame the situation in West Asia for this, he said.
"Tell the country why the rupee has weakened significantly over the past decade. Explain why three RBI governors resigned during your tenure. Dr Manmohan Singh, despite being an accomplished economist and former RBI governor himself, still believed in listening to experts. You have not run even a simple business. How will you understand it. Enough with your 'Mann Ki Baat'. Now listen to the 'Mann Ki Baat' of the real economists," Raj Thackeray said.
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