The Shiv Sena (UBT) has criticised the Centre over its celebration of India’s reported 7.8 per cent quarterly GDP growth, arguing that headline economic figures fail to reflect rising inflation, unemployment and financial distress among ordinary citizens.

In an editorial in the party mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ on Wednesday, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s social media post highlighting the GDP numbers. The editorial described the government’s approach as “grandstanding” and questioned whether strong growth figures were translating into better living conditions for people.