Maharashtra floods: Govt slammed over pics of CM, BJP MLA on food bags
Mumbai, Aug 10: Opposition parties on Saturday accused the BJP-led Maharashtra government of "shamelessly advertising" itself eyeing upcoming assembly polls, after it emerged that grain bags for flood victims in parts of Sangli district carried stickers with images of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and a BJP MLA.
These bags containing rice and wheat bear stickers on which photographs of Fadnavis and Ichalkaranji MLA Suresh Halvankar are printed with a caption: "free rice and wheat distribution to flood-affected families (August 2019)".
Terming the allegations "false", the MLA said the opposition was levelling them because it is left with no issues in the wake of the government providing "speedy assistance" to the flood-affected people.
Defending the use the stickers, the MLA said the move will help the affected people know that the food grain is being provided to them free of cost on behalf of the government.
Senior Congress leader Ashok Chavan said one has to have "some sense" about when and where to "advertise".
"First, the government was not able to provide help on time. And now when the relief work has begun, it is being politicised, advertised. This is very unfortunate and height of shamelessness," he tweeted.
NCP chief spokesperson Nawab Malik echoed Chavan.
"The BJP is ridiculing the flood-affected people. No matter what crisis they are faced with, the BJP has shown its campaign should go on," Malik said.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray accused the BJP of politicising everything.
"MNS workers have also been engaged in relief work in the flood-ravaged areas. But our people are not showing off party label. They (the BJP) are doing this eyeing the polls," Thackeray told reporters here.
NCP leader Dhananjay Munde charged the government with prioritising "self promotion" than providing relief to the affected people.
"What the government has prioritised? Putting stickers. It did not provide relief to the flood-affected for two days so that the stickers could be printed. The children are out on the roads.
"These people, however, are being prompt in printing their photos on the sticker. You will kill people out of hunger for the show off," the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council tweeted, along with the hashtag "selfishgovernment".
Dismissing the allegations as "false and wrong", Halvankar said, "Given the people have lost everything they had, the chief minister took a revolutionary decision of distributing to the people food grain of the quantity which will suffice them for 15 days for free.
"The stickers were put on so people will know the food is for free and none loots them".
The MLA further said the food is being provided through the public distribution system and that the ruling party has no role in it.
On Munde's objection about the stickers carrying his photo too, Halvankar said an MLA is the chairperson of the ration committee of his constituency, a fact he said the NCP is "unaware" of.
"The NCP is left with no political issue. The chief minister is sensitive. He started central kitchen for the flood-affected people...they are trying to politicise such crisis out of desperation," he added.
The Opposition parties have been accusing the state government of inept handling of the flood situation.
Heavy rains have triggered floods in the rivers flowing in the western Maharashtra region, affecting districts of Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Pune and Solapur.
Over four lakh people have been evacuated so far from the flood-hit areas, mostly from Kolhapur and Sangli, apart from Satara, Ratnagiri, Sindgudurg, Raigad, Thane, Nashik and Palghar districts.
The death toll due to floods in the districts of Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Pune and Solapur stood at 29 till Friday.
Though the flood situation in Kolhapur and Sangli districts showed signs of improvement on Saturday as water started to recede, it would take at least two to three days before water could be discharged completely from these districts, according to officials.
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Women''s Bill: Stalin says proposal amid polls raises suspicion; backs 33 per cent reservation
Chennai (PTI): Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday alleged that the proposed amendment to ensure 33 per cent reservation for women in the midst of polls in states including Tamil Nadu appeared to be yet another political manoeuvre aimed at shaping electoral narratives.
Stalin alleged the timing for the proposed amendment led to serious suspicion.
"Why push such a far-reaching decision in the middle of state elections. This appears to be yet another political manoeuvre aimed at shaping electoral narratives, much like earlier attempts to influence women voters ahead of the 2024 Parliament elections," he alleged in a statement titled "This is not reform, this is reengineering power."
Further, he said: "Let me be unequivocal: we strongly support 33 per cent reservation for women. Our support is absolute. But it must be implemented without increasing seats and without punishing states that acted responsibly. If the intent is genuine, nothing prevents immediate implementation within the existing framework."
Demanding fair delimitation, he alleged there was complete opacity on the basis for delimitation and asked would the exercise rely on 1971 figures from a pre–population control era or the 2021 Census. "Conflicting signals and vague assurances only deepen suspicion." This move would also impose a massive financial burden on states, forcing them to expand or rebuild Legislative Assemblies, all without proper consultation.
"This is a direct assault on cooperative federalism. This is not reform, it is a unilateral, politically driven exercise designed to concentrate power, weaken Parliament, marginalise the South, and undermine social justice," he alleged. "The nation deserves answers: why this undue haste, why shift the goalposts, and who truly stands to benefit."
The NDA government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is systematically eroding the very foundations of Parliament, he alleged.
The Dravidian party chief claimed: "What should be a vibrant forum for debate and accountability is being reduced to a hollow ritual, a stage where members may not even get fair time to speak or represent their people. This proposal to increase seats is a direct contradiction of their own slogan of minimum government, maximum governance. It will only inflate expenditure, burden taxpayers, and dilute the quality of parliamentary functioning."
This also went against the spirit of Article 1 of the Constitution, which defines India as a Union of States. Ignoring the voices of states and bypassing meaningful consultation is not democratic - it is unitary overreach that undermines the country's federal and plural character.
More alarmingly, this exercise will blatantly skew representation and tilt the balance of power in favour of northern states dominated by the Bharatiya Janata Party, while silencing the voice of south India, he claimed.
"As forcefully pointed out by veteran leader Siddaramaiah (Karnataka CM), this is not a neutral exercise; it is a calculated political restructuring. Northern states stand to gain nearly double the (Parliamentary) seats, while the South’s share stagnates at around 24 per cent. This is nothing short of penalising states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Keralam and Telangana for their success in population control."
Chief Ministers across the South, including Siddaramaiah, Pinarayi Vijayan and A Revanth Reddy have rightly warned that this move will distort federalism and concentrate power in a few regions, the DMK president alleged.
PM Modi said on Thursday that the proposed amendments to the Women Reservation Act are not just a legislative exercise but a reflection of the aspirations of crores of women across India and urged all MPs to come together to support this significant move.
He had last week announced an extension of the Budget session of Parliament by three days, from April 16 to 18, so that the Women's Reservation Act can be amended for its implementation from 2029.
