Pune: The Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) has called for a Maharashtra bandh on January 24 to protest against the Citizenship Amednment Act (CAA) and National Register for Citizens (NRC) and current economic crisis. Ambedkar was addressing the media on Saturday in the city.
Ambedkar said, “Nearly 40 per cent Hindu community will be affected if NRC is implemented in the country and also there has been large scale economic slowdown in the country, therefore VBA and as many as 35 other organisation from the State will be participating in the bandh.”
He added, “Due to the current slowdown in the Indian economy, the country is in a worrisome situation. The estimates for the current fiscal was Rs 24.6 lakh crore, but data of the economic survey till the November 2019, shows that the government has collected only Rs 11.43 lakh crore.”
He further said that to run the government for at least one financial year, at least Rs 14 lakh core is needed but the government has failed in it. He alleged that in order to achieve that figure by February 2020, the BJP-led Central government is trying to sell PSUs.
Ambedkar said, “The government is good only at coining slogans and making false promises, no concrete steps are being taken to boost economic growth, nor any suggestions by Indian Monetary Fund and World Bank are taken seriously.”
On the recent move by the Maharashtra state government releasing funds to build Babasaheb Ambedkar’s statue taller than the Sardar Vallabhabhai Patel statue at Indu mill in Mumbai, Ambedkar said, “We do not want a taller statue of Babasaheb Ambedkar. Instead, Bombay High Court, which is hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the matter of Babasaheb statue, should release an order and government should give that money to Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children and Nowrosjee Wadia Maternity Hospital.”
