Mumbai, Feb 1: Maharashtra Committee on Saturday claimed that the Union Budget is just a maze of numbers and mess, adding that the farmers are in crisis as they are protesting for the guaranteed price for their agricultural products but there has not been a single word about them in the budget.

“The highest number of farmer suicides are taking place in Maharashtra, while there is a demand for loan waiver for farmers, the BJP government has not announced loan waiver,” said Maharashtra chief Nana Patole.

He added that increasing the Kisan Credit Card limit from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh will not benefit the farmers.

“Inflation is increasing at a high rate, unemployment has increased tremendously, and there is no concrete plan for job creation,” he said.

He added that the Union government has announced that there is no tax up to Rs 12 lakh in income tax, but there is confusion in it too.

“It seems that this announcement had to be made for the benefit of the salaried class and middle class after BJP’s chariot stopped at 240 against its slogan of 400 plus,” he said.

He said that instead of providing substantial funds in the budget for the MGNREGA scheme, which provides employment to the poor in rural areas, the funds have been cut.

“There is no substantial provision in the budget for two important sectors, health and education. The promise of providing two crore jobs every year was made in 2014, but in the last 11 years, not only have jobs not been provided, but there is the worst unemployment crisis. There is no concrete policy in the budget regarding employment generation and jobs. The common man has not been given concessions to fulfil his dream of housing and GST has not been reduced,” said Patole.

He said that Bihar was mentioned consistently in the budget but no other state including Maharashtra was mentioned.

“Bihar is going to have Assembly elections soon, so the Finance Minister has deliberately mentioned Bihar in the budget. The negative response of the stock market immediately after the budget was presented means that this budget has not met the expectations,” he said.

Meanwhile, the party general secretary Sachin Sawant said that the budget has made it clear that the direction of economic policies has been wrong for the last ten years and the policy of the Congress party was right.

“For the last ten years, the government was focused on increasing supply. Corporate tax was reduced by Rs 1.5 lakh crore, but corporate profits did not increase and employment did not increase. Even though corporate loans were written off by banks, neither private investment nor exports increased. During this period, the current account deficit increased and the trade deficit did not decrease,” he said.

He added that the foreign direct investment, which was 3.6 per cent of the gross domestic product during the UPA government, came down to 0.8 per cent.

“Foreign institutions are fleeing the stock market as corporates are not making profits. However, the purchasing power of the people has fallen to its lowest level in the last twenty years,” said Sawant.

He added that the Modi government is the most failed, policy paralysed and economically ignorant government.

“It is clear how far the concept of a developed India is due to their inefficiency and how the monster of unemployment and inflation as well as huge economic inequality is swallowing the common man,” he claimed.

Mumbai: In a sudden development on Friday, the Mahayuti government decided to appoint a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged conspiracy to frame Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Ekanth Shinde, who were the opposition leader and Urban Development Minister when the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) was in power.

About The Alleged Conspiracy

The alleged conspiracy involved registering false criminal cases against the duo. The SIT will be headed by Satyanarayan Chaudhary, who oversees the law-and-order wing of the Mumbai Police, according to a Government Resolution (GR) issued by the State Home Department. The decision to constitute the SIT follows information shared by BJP MLC Pravin Darekar in the state legislative council during the winter session in December 2024, according to the GR.

According to Darekar, a conspiracy was hatched to register false cases against Fadnavis and Shinde. He stated that he had evidence in the form of an audio clip. It is also significant that the home department was under the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) when the MVA was in power. The department was headed by Anil Deshmukh until early July, followed by Dilip Walse Patil. While Deshmukh is with the Sharad Pawar-led faction of the NCP, Walse Patil joined the Ajit Pawar-led group that rebelled in July 2023.

The SIT includes Rajiv Jain, DIG of the State Reserve Police Force; Navnath Dhavle, DCP, Mumbai Police; Adikrao Pol, ACP, Mumbai; and Satyanarayan Chaudhary. The SIT has been instructed to complete its probe within 30 days.

Mumbai: A tragic accident occurred in Worli, where a speeding dumper rammed into two bikers, killing one on the spot. The deceased has been identified as Rohan Gupta (21), while the other rider, Sanket Virendrakumar Sharma (21), sustained serious injuries. Based on Sharma’s complaint, the N.M. Joshi Marg Police have registered a case against the dumper driver, Darshan Subhash Kasdekar (27) and arrested him. Further investigation is underway.

According to the N.M. Joshi Marg Police, the accident took place around 9:30 PM on January 30 near Birla Centurion Mill Gate No. 01 to 07. Complainant Sanket Sharma and his friend Rohan Gupta were riding a bike on Pandurang Budhkar Marg when a speeding and negligent dumper driver hit them near Birla Centurion Mill. The impact threw both riders off their bike, causing severe injuries. Gupta succumbed to his injuries on the spot, while Sharma survived with serious wounds. The police have registered a case and are continuing their investigation.