My party is not like your degree: Uddhav Thackeray hits back at PM Modi over 'fake' Shiv Sena barb
Palghar (Maha), Apr 12: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his "fake Shiv Sena" remark, and said his party was not like "your degree".
Speaking at a campaign rally at Boisar near Mumbai for his party's Palghar Lok Sabha constituency candidate Bharti Kamdi, Thackeray also claimed that the opposition INDIA grouping will cross the 300-mark and defeat the BJP.
He also vowed to scrap the Vadhavan port project in Palghar district, which he said is opposed by local fishermen.
Attacking the Union government and BJP, Thackeray alleged that good projects were being taken to Gujarat, while environmentally destructive projects were being introduced in Maharashtra. He also assured that a new airport will be built in Palghar.
"The Shiv Sena, founded by the Shiv Sena pramukh (Bal Thackeray) to fight for the rights of sons of soil, is being called fake. It is not your degree to call it fake," Thackeray said.
Earlier this week, at a rally in Maharashtra, Modi had dubbed the Thackeray-led Sena as fake. "INDIA alliance partner DMK is talking about finishing Sanatan and linking Sanatana Dharma to malaria and dengue. And the Congress and the fake Shiv Sena are calling the same people for rallies in Maharashtra," the PM had said.
Thackeray further said he had visited the Vadhavan area and interacted with the villagers and fishermen in the late 90s. After his interaction he had conveyed their opposition to the port project to his father, Sena chief Bal Thackeray, who said the project should be scrapped, the former chief minister said.
"If you are going ahead with the Vadhavan project by not taking into consideration the concerns of people, then go ahead. We will run the people's bulldozer over this government," Thackeray said.
If Bharti Kamdi wins, she will oppose the project in the Lok Sabha, the Sena (UBT) chief added.
Earlier this year, the Vadhavan port project received environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
The Rs 76,220-crore project is being developed by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and Maharashtra Maritime Board.
Thackeray, meanwhile, also accused the BJP of being "corrupt" after Amol Kirtikar, his party's North-West Mumbai candidate, was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate in the "khichdi" scam in the Mumbai civic body.
Notably, after the rally ended, Thackeray took a suburban local train to return to Mumbai, 110 km from Boisar. Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, Thackeray's personal assistant Milind Narvekar and a few other party leaders accompanied him in the first class compartment.
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AI, IndiGo, SpiceJet seek ATF price relief; say airline industry on verge of 'stopping operations'
Mumbai (PTI): Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet have told the government that the country's airline industry is under extreme stress and on the verge of "stopping operations", as they sought revision in ATF pricing and financial support.
The West Asia turmoil has pushed up oil prices, and airspace restrictions have increased airlines' operating costs, especially on long-haul routes. Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) accounts for around 40 per cent of a carrier's operational expenses.
Against this backdrop, the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) has written to the civil aviation ministry, seeking steps to extend the same fuel pricing mechanism uniformly across both domestic and international operations as was done in the past with the establishment of the crack band.
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With an unprecedented rise in jet fuel prices and exorbitant crack/differential between crude and ATF, the federation said the operation of airlines is being challenged in totality.
"... any ad hoc pricing (domestic vs international) and/or irrational increase in the price of ATF will result in unsurmountable losses for airlines and will lead to grounding of aircraft, resulting in cancellation of flights," the federation, which represents Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet, said.
"In order to survive, sustain and continue operation, we request your urgent intervention for immediate and meaningful financial support to tide over the current situation," it said in a letter on April 26.
Also, the airlines have sought temporary deferment of excise duty on ATF, which is at 11 per cent.
"With the abnormal increase in ATF prices from the pre-crisis period, adding rupee depreciation to the increased prices, the 11 per cent excise duty also increases manifold for the airlines and adds to the ATF price as a big impact on airlines," they said.
Last month, the government limited the hike in ATF price to Rs 15 per litre for domestic operations, but for international operations, the price rose by Rs 73 per litre.
The airlines said the situation has practically made international operations, along with domestic operations, completely unviable and resulted in significant losses for the aviation sector in April.
Seeking urgent intervention on the current ATF ad hoc pricing, FIA said the current situation is creating a severe imbalance in domestic and international operations and rendering airline networks unviable and unsustainable.
"The airline industry in India is under extreme stress and is on the verge of closing down or of stopping its operations."
The federation has pitched for a transparent pricing framework under the crack band mechanism (USD 12–22/BBL) that was implemented in October 2022, saying there was a fair and reasonable margin for Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs).
According to FIA, the country's largest aviation hub Delhi has the second-highest value-added tax (VAT) of 25 per cent on jet fuel, while the highest rate is 29 per cent levied in Tamil Nadu.
"The other major aviation cities, viz. Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Kolkata range between 16 per cent and 20 per cent. These 6 cities cover more than 50 per cent of airlines' operations within India," the federation said.
