Is Parle-G sales down because kids are busy playing PUBG, asks Shiv Sena

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray addresses a party rally at Pandharpur in Maharashtra | PTI (File) Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray | PTI

Shiv Sena took a dig at Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman who claimed that the slowdown in the auto industry was due to millennials who prefer to use cab aggregators and radio taxi services instead of buying vehicles, among other reasons.

In the party's mouthpiece Saamana, Shiv Sena hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, saying they were doing a "great job" while slamming other Union ministers who were making the jobs of the duo tougher by " "mocking the deteriorating state of economy and employment," according to news agency ANI.

The party said it is not possible to ignore the questions of unemployment and economic slowdown that are being raised, and added that Central ministers are making the jobs of PM Modi and the home minister by "mocking the deteriorating economic situation and employment."

Taking a rather sarcastic tone, the party noted that Parle-G sales too have gone down and over 10,000 people have lost their jobs, and asked should we draw a conclusion that this was because children aren't eating biscuits as they are too busy playing PUBG.

Pointing out Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's comment that around 60 lakh people would be using the Mumbai-Maharashtra metro rail for commutation, the party asked does it mean that this too will affect the sale of vehicles and lead to more job losses.

"The automobile industry in India did have its good time, at least till two years ago. There was definitely a good upward trajectory for the automobile sector. But now it has been affected by the transition to Bharat Stage VI emission norms and a higher registration fee. Some studies show that millennials do not want to commit to an equated monthly installment to buy a vehicle, and prefer Ola, Uber and metro services,” Sitharaman had earlier said.