Maharashtra reeling under debt, facing financial anarchy, says Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut

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Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday said that Maharashtra is being crushed under the weight of debt and claimed that there is financial anarchy in the state.

According to news agency PTI, he further alleged that there is an ongoing "war" between Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputy Eknath Shinde.

"The state is being crushed under the burden of debt. The state is inflicted by financial indiscipline. There is financial anarchy," Raut remarked.

According to the Rajya Sabha lawmaker, old artists and litterateurs are not receiving aid under a scheme meant for them ever since the state government introduced the Ladki Bahin Yojana.

As per the Economic Survey tabled in the legislature on Friday during the Maharashtra Budget Session 2025, the state's debt stock is expected to rise by 10.1 per cent from the previous year, reaching 17.3 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).

However, this figure is within the prescribed limit of 25 per cent of GSDP, as stipulated by the Maharashtra Fiscal Responsibility & Budgetary Management (MFRBM) Rules 2006, the survey noted.

The survey also revealed that the debt stock currently stands at Rs 7,82,991 crore, based on budget estimates, with Rs 56,727 crore in interest due.

Meanwhile, in response to Fadnavis' remark that he was not Shiv Sena (UBT) President and former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to halt projects, Raut said that his party appreciated Fadnavis for staying decisions taken by the previous government that were linked to corruption.

He added that Thackeray had also stayed such decisions that could have resulted in corruption, and Fadnavis should appreciate Thackeray for that, PTI reported.

Sena (UBT) urges Marathi inclusion in restaurant menus, bills

The Shiv Sena (UBT) has submitted a request letter dated March 7 to the Mumbai collector and the municipal commissioner, urging them to instruct shopkeepers, hotel and restaurant owners to include Marathi in their bills and menu cards. This letter states that there is no opposition to any language, but Marathi must also be used, as it is the mother tongue of Maharashtra. The page-long letter wraps up that failure to do so would be considered disrespectful to the Marathi-speaking community, the language itself and the 106 martyrs who sacrificed their lives for a united Maharashtra.

(With PTI inputs)