The Shiv Sena on Monday borrowed a famous line from the Hindi blockbuster Sholay to target the BJP-led Centre over the economic slowdown, asking why there was so much 'silence' in the markets on Diwali and wondered if worse days are ahead.

'...Itna sannata kyon hai bhai?' (why is there so much silence) is the question resonating everywhere on 'silence' over the future of the country and Maharashtra, the Sena said in an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana.

The statement comes in midst of a struggle between the BJP and Shiv Sena over power sharing in the state. The Sena wants a 50-50 power sharing formula, which .

The dialogue is from the film, Sholay, mouthed by veteran actor late A. K. Hangal in an emotional scene where silent villagers look on while a horse carries the body of his son killed by dacoit Gabbar Singh, portrayed by Amjad Khan.

The Sena used the Sholay dialogue to raise questions on what it termed as the 'gloomy' picture of the economy and blamed the government's decisions of demonetisation and 'faulty implementation' of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) for the situation in the country. 'Markets have lost shine as sales figures have dropped by 30 to 40 per cent due to the looming fear of slowdown,' it said. 'Factories are in danger, industries are closing down, unemployment is on the rise, companies are declaring themselves bankrupt every day. Banks are also seen getting bankrupt,' the editorial said.

The editorial points out that while the people were feeling the pinch of the slowdown, the government too had to borrow funds from the RBI.

'The government is forced to withdraw Rs 1.75 lakh crore from the emergency reserve of the RBI,' it said.

'There is silence in markets on Diwali, but foreign companies, through online shopping platforms, have been filling up their coffers with the country's money,' it rued.

Farmers were the worst hit as their crops, which were ready to be harvested, were damaged due to the untimely rains recently, the editorial pointed out.

'Unfortunately, nobody talks about how to bring farmers out of this,' said the Sena, which is an ally of the BJP at the Centre and in Maharashtra.

There was less clamour and 'more silence' during the Assembly polls held on the eve of Diwali, it said.

Last week, Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray demanded a written assurance from the BJP for implementing 'equal formula for sharing of power', before holding talks on staking the claim to form the next alliance government in the state.

In the recent polls to the 288-member Assembly, the BJP won 105 seats, a loss of 17 seats compared to its 2014 tally.

The Sena's tally also came down to 56 seats from 63 in 2014.