Uddhav Thackeray asks legislators to expose BJP

Amid the widening rift with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena president, Uddhav Thackeray, exhorted party legislators and members of the parliament to aggressively raise issues concerning the economically underprivileged classes. Thackeray said that while the few rich "loot" the banks, loans are denied to the farmers and the micro, small and medium enterprises and hence these issues should be raised in the state legislative houses.

At a party meeting, Thackeray urged the elected members of Shiv Sena to attend the budget session with full preparation.

Thackeray wanted MPs and legislators to grill the BJP led government at the Centre and in Maharashtra for shifting the International Finance Center (IFC) to Gujarat, despite original proposals to set it up in Mumbai.

A Shiv Sena MP, who attended the party meeting, told DNA, '' The BJP should be exposed on the development of Gift City in Gujarat as IFC, while diluting the importance of Mumbai which has been the country's financial capital and an obvious choice for the IFC. Also, Rs 1 lakh crore bullet train project between Mumbai and Gujarat will largely benefit the latter. The MPs and legislators should be vocal against this ploy.''

On the Centre's move to set up an oil refinery in the Ratnagiri district with Rs 3 lakh crore as an investment, Thackeray asked the party's elected representatives to step up opposition against the project.''Thackeray made it amply clear that Shiv Sena will not let it happen,'' the party MP informed.

Further, Thackeray asked MPs to strongly voice their concerns against the draft notification issued by the union labour ministry which will allow fixed-term employment across sectors that are a part of the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Central (Amendment) Rules, 2018.