Invoking the famed Sholay dialogue, "itna sannata kyun hai bhai", the ruling ally Shiv Sena on Monday made a resounding critique of the economic slump which it said "is evident in the subdued Diwali celebrations this year".

Strategically ahead of the tough negotiations for forming the next government in Maharashtra, the Sena launched a fresh missive at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on sensitive points such as demonetisation, goods and services tax (GST) and the overall slow-down plaguing the nation's economy.

"The 'dhoom-dhadaka' of fire-crackers are missing from this year's Diwali. Sales everywhere are down by 30-40 percent. "Itna sannata kyun hai bhai"? The country is facing an economic crisis... The condition of the Indian economy is worsening instead of improving," the Sena warned in strong edits in the party mouthpieces Saamana and Dopahar Ka Saamana.

"The 'mai-baap sarkar' at the Centre says it will double farmers' incomes, but some or the other natural calamities keep hitting them in the form of drought or floods. Due to demonetisation and GST, factories are threatened, industries and businesses are shutting, employment generation is badly affected with even the banks going bankrupt," said the Sena.

Painting a grim scenario, it said peoples' pockets have been "anyway empty", but now even the government coffers are being drained out, and because of the prevailing financial emergency-like situation, the government took out Rs 1.75 lakh crore from the reserves of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

"Whatever may be the condition, people somehow manage to find ways and means to celebrate Diwali, but the same cannot be said of the country's financial sector in the grip of an economic crisis. Our markets are deserted, the festive glitter is not visible anywhere, but in the guise of online shopping, foreign companies are making money," the Sena said.

First Published:Oct 28, 2019 2:37 PM IST