Sharad Pawar, the leader of the Nationalist Congress Party, claimed on Saturday that attempts were being made to divide people based on caste and religion and that rulers were not interested in finding solutions to the problems of the people but rather were attempting to divert their focus with “temple politics.”
Speaking at a gathering in north Maharashtra, Pawar attributed the condition of Marathi-speaking textile mill employees in Mumbai to the economic policies of the present Union government. Pawar urged workers in the nation to band together to safeguard their future and accused the government of attempting to undermine labour unions and make them reliant on it.
“Several government offices are shutting. People are becoming divided based on their religion and caste. There are numerous difficulties, such as unemployment and price increases, and people anticipate that authority should be utilised to address these concerns, but leaders are uninterested, the speaker said.
Pawar said that attempts are being made to interest people in topics like temple politics in order to deflect their attention from actual concerns. He was making a subtle jab at Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who is visiting Ayodhya.
“These are challenging times. We’ll need to be vigilant. You do labour for the nation and perhaps for foreign countries. Your future is bright, and I have no doubts about it, but it relies on your togetherness, Pawar said. On the occasion of the platinum anniversary of the Hind Mazdoor Sabha’s founding day, he was speaking as the main guest.
“The situation for employees in the nation is changing. Cities in Maharashtra formerly had a variety of industries and a large labour force. Mumbai was regarded as India’s industrial hub for around 25 to 30 years, but things have changed. Since there aren’t any employees there and their living conditions are worrying, no one any longer views it as the industrial capital, according to the former Union minister.
According to him, Girangaon in Bombay used to be home to 110–115 textile mills, and employees used to live in chawls. Nevertheless, things have changed. The construction of several 40–50-story skyscrapers has taken place, and Marathi employees from Girangaon are not included in these tall structures. These employees are devastated. According to Pawar, this is the outcome of the Union government’s current economic policies.
According to Harbhajan Singh Siddhu, general secretary of the Hindu Mazdoor Sabha, the nation is in a very critical condition since a “undeclared emergency” exists. Chhagan Bhujbal, a former minister and NCP politician, talked about how his name was connected to the historic Telgi stamp paper scandal but that he wasn’t named in the CBI chargesheet. Pawar toured the facilities of the Currency Note Press and the India Security Press.
