New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was "ignoring" the demand for granting Marathi classical language status and that for 10 years, he had done nothing on "the well-argued case" submitted by then CM Prithviraj Chavan in 2014 articulating the demand.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh posed four questions to the prime minister ahead of his Pune visit.
However, Modi's visit to Pune was cancelled due to the heavy rain situation in the city.
In his posers to Modi, Ramesh asked why is the Chakan industrial area facing a mass exodus of manufacturing units.
"Pune's Chakan industrial area is currently witnessing a mass exodus of manufacturing units due to problems caused by poor road infrastructure. Despite ongoing roadwork, basic issues of traffic congestion and potholes continue to plague the area," Ramesh said in his post on X.
This has not only caused frequent traffic jams but also a worrying increase in the number of accidents, and the absence of traffic police at important junctions has only exacerbated the problem, he said.
This has led to disruptions in production schedules as the movement of raw materials to factories and the transportation of finished goods have been severely hampered, the Congress leader said.
"Even after repeated complaints to the Pune police, and many meetings with officials from the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), no meaningful progress has been made. Now, around 50 manufacturing units have relocated to other states like Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh," he said.
Is the Mahayuti government doing anything to stop this mass exodus of manufacturing units from Pune, Ramesh asked.
"What does the non-biological PM have to say about all the jobs that have been lost due to his government's negligence?" he said.
Ramesh further asked why has the BJP ignored the Dhangar community's demand for ST status.
The Dhangar community, which constitutes almost nine per cent of Maharashtra's population, has been demanding ST status for years but in vain, he said.
"Effects of caste-based marginalisation are evident from the Dhangars' poor performance on Human Development Index indicators, but they have received no support from the Mahayuti government," he said.
Last year, Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde made vague commitments about studying other states' methodologies to address their demands for reservation but no meaningful progress has been made, Ramesh said.
The Congress has consistently promised to conduct a nationwide caste census to ensure that every backward community in India is able to access the opportunities they deserve, he said.
"What is the non-biological PM doing to ensure the wellbeing of the Dhangar community? Why have the BJP and their allies ignored the plight of the Dhangars?" Ramesh said.
He further asked why has the Centre "neglected" Maharashtra's sugar industry.
Expecting a shortage in sugar production this year, the Central government has imposed a blanket ban on the production of ethanol because of which millers in Maharashtra are sitting on stocks worth at least Rs 925 crore, he claimed.
The Centre's predictions, however, are flawed as the per acre yield of sugarcane has actually increased by over 15 per cent, he said.
"Now, sugar mills find themselves in a fix - in addition to the financial burden imposed by this ban, they are also worried about the fire hazard posed by their existing stocks of ethanol and spirits, which are incredibly combustible materials," he said.
Neither has the Centre's reactionary policy helped the farmers - the greater than expected supply of sugarcane has lowered prices for the crop, especially given the drop in demand due to the ethanol ban, he said.
"Is the non-biological PM going to take responsibility for this disastrous shift in policy? Does the BJP have any plans to rectify the problems they have created for the sugar industry?" Ramesh said.
"Why is the non-biological PM ignoring the demand for granting Marathi classical language status?" Ramesh said.
He said that when Dr. Manmohan Singh was prime minister, Tamil, Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, and Odia were declared classical Indian languages.
"In the non-biological PM's tenure, zero languages have been accorded classical language status. For ten years, he has done nothing on the well-argued case submitted by then Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Prithviraj Chavan, on 11th July, 2014, to declare Marathi as a classical Indian language," Ramesh said.
"What explains the non-biological PM's special apathy to Marathi culture?" he said.
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