Amid Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push for a self-reliant India under the government’s flagship Aatmanirbhar Bharat scheme, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has come up with the idea of ‘Aatmanirbhar Chaha’, meaning ‘self-reliance tea’ stalls across Maharashtra. According to a report by news agency ANI, the idea involves establishing tea stalls with photos of PM Narendra Modi and Devendra Fadnavis, the Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly.
According to the report, the idea is to send a message of self-reliance on the lines of PM Narendra Modi’s vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat. Devendra Fadnavis is expected to inaugurate the first such tea stall near the Bharatiya Janata Party office in Mumbai.
Previously, local media had reported that the Aatmanirbhar tea stall would be provided loans under the government’s Mudra scheme.
Shiv Vada Pav, jhunka bhakar centres by Shiv Sena
Previously, BJP’s estranged ally Shiv Sena had set up Shiv Vada Pav stalls across Mumbai. The scheme was launched in 2009 and Uddhav Thackeray, Shiv Sena chief had said that the initiative was aimed at generating employment in the state. The initiative also involved training Maharashtra’s youth to make vada pav, a staple food in Maharashtra.
“McDonald’s has extended their know how to us to help us ensure our ingredients stay fresh for a long time,” Thackeray had said during the launch of the scheme in Maharashtra. Reaching out to the population via street food is not new in Maharashtra’s politics. In 1995 as well, Shiv Sena had launched jhunka bhakar centres in Maharashtra.
