It’s a ploy to defame Maharashtra by MVA, alleges DCM Devendra Fadnavis

@the_news_21

Mumbai: Giving a befitting reply to opposition party leaders over shifting of investment projects in Gujarat from Maharashtra, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis alleged that it was a ploy by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leader to defame the state. He said that MVA leaders were creating a negative narrative about investment and they do not bother whether investment will be executed in the state or not.

Addressing the media on Monday in Mantralaya, Fadnavis alleged that the opposition Uddhav Thackeray group along with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress are trying to malign the image of Maharashtra as a non-friendly state for investment. He assured that within next two years, his government will bring Maharashtra at number one position in terms of investments. 

Waiving copies of newspaper cuttings and quoting specific dates, the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said that at one hand opposition claims the Vedanta-Foxconn project was shifted to Gujarat after the Shinde-Fadnavis government came in power. “However, a false narrative was created about Foxconn. Former Industries minister Subhash Desai had said Foxconn would not come to Maharashtra when Uddhav Thackeray was the chief minister. If Desai knew about it, why did they take a stand that this was shifted during the Shinde – Fadnavis government?”, questioned Fadnavis.

Referring to the flight of the Tata-Airbus military aircraft project to Gujarat, Fadnavis disclosed that the project took flight to Gujarat on September 23, 2021 during the previous MVA regime. The Gujarat deal finalized about 22,000 crores of investment in Gujarat.

Fadnavis further remarked “When I came to know about Tata Airbus, in 2016 when the MOU was not signed, I met the Tata Airbus team, and offered to give more than what Gujarat was offering. On April 24, 2021 when I was the Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, I invited the team to Sagar, I am ready to speak with the Chief Minister, but don’t go to Gujarat. They told me that the mahol (atmosphere) of Maharashtra is not good (environment is not industry friendly)

I spoke with the CEO of Industries, but not a single letter was sent to Tata-Airbus by MIDC. I tried to bring this project to Nagpur and Hence I thought the Thackeray government deliberately had not taken the initiative. The team leader told me that they have already informed Uddhav Ji that they had decided to shift to Gujarat.”

Commenting upon the French company, Safran, the Deputy Chief Minister disclosed “I had spoken with this company in 2019 when I was the Chief Minister. Later the government changed. No communication for a period of a year by the Uddhav Thackeray government. Then the company decided to shift to Hyderabad. No announcement by Centre to give medical and drug park to Maharashtra Medical devices park. These two clusters were not announced by the Centre

I assure that within the next two years, we will bring Maharashtra at number one in terms of investment. Deliberately loss of Vidarbha’s development by MVA. We will give a befitting reply through action,” remarked Fadnavis.

Fadnavis further alleged, “It is a ploy of Maha Vikas Aghadi to create confusions among the investors. We will not allow the cancellation of the Nanar oil refinery project. Some villages will be illuminated from the project. But it will be revived. It may be Nanar or another name will be there. We will call it the Refinery project rather than Nanar. We are in a competitive world. Hence, I will not give up. I will try to meet the project team if I come to know that someone is ready to invest.

The Deputy Chief Minister thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Government of India’s approval for setting up the Electronics Manufacturing Cluster at Ranjangaon in Pune district under National Policy on Electronics.

“This will create a robust electronics manufacturing ecosystem in Maharashtra. This Electronics Manufacturing Cluster at Ranjangaon will be spread across 297.11 acre & ₹492.85 crore will be spent on development. (₹207.98 crore is GoI’s contribution). This EMC is targeted to attract ₹2000 crore investment & to generate 5000 employment opportunities”, disclosed Fadnavis.

The Deputy Chief Minister further stated that GoI has accorded approval to MIDC & Union Minister announced this approval to Maharashtra at New Delhi just few mins ago. “This EMC will be ready in 32 months. I am also happy to share that Anchor client M/s IFB Refrigeration Ltd has already started its work with a projected investment of ₹450 crore. This EMC will target units of industrial electronics, consumer electronics, solar PV manufacturing, E-Mobility products/components etc.

Meanwhile, Aaditya Thackeray, holding a press conference immediately after Devendra Fadnavis spoke, said that the Deputy CM ought to stop misleading the public over the loss of various projects. He further rubbished Fadnavis’ claims on statements made by then Industries Minister Subhash Desai that Vedanta-Foxconn would not come to Maharashtra, observing that the Deputy CM was referring to a different project by Foxconn.  

“There is a great deal of effort in telling lies before the public which must stop. He (Fadnavis) is claiming that a high-level official from the Tata consortium had reportedly told that the atmosphere in the State was not conducive to business. If that is so, then Fadnavis ought to reveal his name. If you are claiming to have followed up on the project since 2016, then it is your failure that you could not get this project in Maharashtra (Fadnavis was CM from 2014 to 2019),” remarked Aaditya Thackeray. 

Countering Fadnavis ‘documentary evidence’ with his own and clarifying the timeline of the Vedanta-Foxconn project, Thackeray scion said that the MVA government had responded thrice to their Expressions of Interest (EoI) and that a detailed investment proposal had already been sent to the previous government. 

Referring to the announcement for the electronic manufacturing cluster in Ranjangaon which came today had first been initiated by former Industries Minister Subhash Desai in Pune when the MVA was in power.