Modi turned India into Hiroshima, Nagasaki with demonetisation bomb: Shiv Sena

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has turned the country into Hiroshima and Nagasaki by dropping the demonetisation bomb, the Shiv Sena has said in its most vicious attack on the government over the shock recall of high-value banknotes.

The Sena, an ally of the ruling BJP at the Centre, has been critical of the government ever since Modi’s November 8 announcement recalling 500 and 1000-rupee notes that sucked out 86% of the banknotes in circulation.

In an editorial in its mouthpiece, Saamana, the Sena also accused Modi of taking decisions unilaterally, besides making the comparison with the two Japanese cities destroyed by atomic bombs dropped by the United States during the World War II.

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It said Modi was “not in a state” to listen to anyone and has “not taken the counsel” of even the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor.

“The way he has picked deaf and dumb parrots to sit on his cabinet meetings, he has also chosen the RBI governor and turned the country’s economy into shambles,” the editorial said.

The party’s taunts a came day after it attempted to push the BJP into a corner and beat its ally with the same transparency stick it was using against the Sena amid seat-sharing talks for the forthcoming civic body polls in Mumbai.

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The BJP has been insisting that the Sena commit itself to transparency in administration as a key factor for a pre-poll alliance between the two parties. The BJP move is being seen as an attempt to distance itself from graft allegations against the Sena.

The Sena on Tuesday hit out at the BJP, saying it was fully on board in wanting transparency in administration, but it should be seen in the Central and state governments too, and decisions should not be unilateral.

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In the Saamana editorial, the Sena also criticised Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar for first welcoming the demonetisation decision and then back-tracking once it stifled the cooperative sector, where the NCP has always had a strong grip.

The Sena lashed out at the Modi government for not allowing district cooperative banks to accept demonetised currency notes, saying farmers suffered the most because of the decision.