A file photo of Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant
A Shiv Sena member in Lok Sabha on Wednesday accused the Congress, its ally in Maharashtra, of being a "silent spectator" when jawans were killed by terrorists and the national tricolour was burnt in Jammu and Kashmir. Participating in a debate on the budgetary proposals and demand for grants for the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, Arvind Sawant of the Shiv Sena said the party was thankful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking the "bold step" of abrogating Article 370 provisions, which gave special status to the erstwhile state.
He said Article 370 abrogation had been a long-standing demand of Bal Thackeray, the founder of the Shiv Sena. He wondered as to why the Opposition never expressed pain and anguish over burning of the national tricolour. "They didn't express pain when jawans are killed...we will together say 'Bharat Mata KI Jai'. We don't require the ruling party's permission to say 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'," he said.
When youth pelt stones on police forces, he said, the House doesn't express agony. He also said that "the Congress is our ally in Maharashtra but principles of the party remains intact." Observing that the government needs to build confidence, he said there is an urgent need to restore peace in Jammu and Kashmir.
Allocation of 69 per cent of the budget on security reflects the fact that peace is still far. It is against the democratic principles that the State Budget is being discussed in Parliament, he added.
Echoing similar views, Supriya Sule of the NCP said that the Centre should make efforts to have an elected government in place as soon as possible and expressed hope that next Budget will be tabled in the Assembly.
With regard to investment in the state, she said funds flow only when people feel that they are safe and secure. "We have to solve all terrorism problem with economics and economy is not in good shape at the moment," she added.
Jammu and Kashmir currently facing shortage of medicine, she said, adding road conditions are bad and power outages are frequent. She also expressed concern over the coronavirus outbreak impacting the tourism sector.
