Amid the political controversy in Maharashtra over losing the $20 billion Vedanta-Foxconn semiconductor project to Gujarat, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said ‘Gujarat is no Pakistan, and it is our brother.’
“It is a healthy competition. We fell behind Gujarat in attracting foreign investment during Maha Vikas Aghadi’s tenure, but in the next two years, we will be ahead of Gujarat, Karnataka and everyone. Maharashtra should be on the top. I can’t keep it even at the second position and we won’t,” he said speaking at an event.
He said that despite Vedanta Resources Limited chairman Anil Agarwal’s clarification tweet, the controversy is still going on.
“A day after taking over as Deputy Chief Minister, I met Mr. Agarwal and offered a tailor-made package, a better one when compared with the neighbouring State. But he told me that they were at an advanced stage with Gujarat. However, we made our efforts and tried every bit to convince them. The ones who did nothing are pointing fingers at us,” Mr. Fadnavis said. He said that the company took a decision on Gujarat before the new government in Maharashtra came to power.
Further, he accused the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government of corruption and said a 10% commission had to be paid for availing any subsidy, and during that period, Gujarat surged ahead. “The Opposition's policy is to ‘stop everything’, and with such policy, Maharashtra could not beat Gujarat,” he said.
He also accused the previous government of opposing several megaprojects, including a refinery in Ratnagiri and the Vadhavan port in Palghar, and for stalling the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train and Mumbai Metro phase-III.
However, Opposition parties continue to attack the Shinde-Fadnavis government for losing the megaproject which could have created more than one lakh jobs. Recently, Priyanka Chaturvedi, an MP from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction, alleged that the government's move was a betrayal to the people of Maharashtra. “
