'Centre, Mahayuti Conspired For Wholesale Surrender Of Maharashtra's Interests': Congress On Tata-Airbus Plant
Congress's Jairam Ramesh targeted the Centre and the Mahayuti government over the newly-inaugurated Tata-Airbus C-295 plant in Gujarat's Vadodara, claiming that it was supposed to be set up in Nagpur.
The Congress on Monday accused the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led union government and the Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti government of conspiring for a "wholesale surrender of Maharashtra's interests", claiming that the Tata-Airbus C-295 aircraft facility in Gujarat's Vadodara was initially supposed to be set up in Nagpur.
The military aircraft complex for manufacturing the C-295 aircraft in Vadodara was inaugurated by PM Modi and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez, who is on his first official visit to India.
Congress communications in-charge and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh said that the people of Maharashtra would give a befitting reply to PM Modi and his allies for betraying Maharashtra, referring to the upcoming Assembly elections in the state on November 20.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the Congress leader alleged: "Today, the non-biological PM is in Vadodara to launch the Tata-Airbus C-295 aircraft facility. This exact same project was supposed to be set up in Nagpur, but was shifted to Gujarat in 2022 on the eve of the assembly elections there. One can only imagine the machinations that went on behind the scenes to ensure that Maharashtra lost out on this key investment."
"This is not an exception. Under the non-biological PM’s leadership and instruction, the Union Government and the Mahayuti government have conspired to ensure the wholesale surrender of Maharashtra’s interests in landing new projects or seeking Central support," Jairam Ramesh added.
Jairam Ramesh Claims Centre Redirected Various Projects From Maha To Gujarat
Highlighting that this wasn't the first time that Maharashtra had lost out on investments, Jairam Ramesh cited past examples of how various projects had been "redirected to Gujarat". He stated that an International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) has been established solely in Gujarat’s GIFT City, alleging that former PM Manmohan Singh had began the efforts to set it up in Mumbai, which did not happen, sabotaging lakhs of jobs for the people in Mumbai.
"Dr. Manmohan Singh in 2006 had begun the effort to set it up in Mumbai. Land in Bandra Kurla Complex had already been set aside for the IFSC. But that was sabotaged costing Mumbai potentially 2 lakh jobs," he alleged.
"Mumbai and Surat have worked together to develop India’s diamond industry for decades, with Surat handling cutting and polishing, and Mumbai handling trading and export. However, a new Bharat Diamond Bourse was built in Surat. It is another matter that this move has failed entirely, with many diamond merchants moving their operations back to Mumbai," Ramesh wrote.
The Congress leader further said that the Tata-Airbus plant, and the "now-failed Vedanta-Foxconn" semiconductor chip factory was also shifted from Maharashtra to Gujarat. He alleged that the Textile Commissionerate Office was abruptly relocated to Delhi in 2023 without any apparent reason, despite it being based in Mumbai for over eight decades.
"The Textile Commissionerate Office, based in Mumbai for 80+ years, was suddenly shifted to Delhi last year, for no clear reason whatsoever, despite the fact that the Mumbai metropolitan region (MMR) remains a huge hub of textiles," he said.
"The Dattopant Thengadi National Board for Workers Education & Development was also shifted from Nagpur to Delhi in 2021," he wrote, citing another example.
Today, the non-biological PM is in Vadodara to launch the Tata-Airbus C-295 aircraft facility. This exact same project was supposed to be set up in Nagpur, but was shifted to Gujarat in 2022 on the eve of the assembly elections there. One can only imagine the machinations that…
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) October 28, 2024
The Congress MP also claimed that the government had dragged giving the classical language status to Marathi for a decade, despite pressure from the Congress and civil society organisations in Maharashtra, since it wanted to approve it on the even of the Assembly elections in the state.
Jairam Ramesh stressed that the Congress and the Maha Vikas Aghadi do not engage in favoritism and instead "believe in the equitable development of the entire country".
"New infrastructure projects, special investment zones, and modern industry should benefit all Indians, and not one state alone," he stated.
'Maharashtra Has Been Ill-Treated': Shiv Sena (UBT)
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also slammed the Centre for "ill-treating" Maharashtra and "snatching away" projects from the state.
"The inauguration (TATA Aircraft Complex for manufacturing C-295 aircraft) by the Prime Minister in Vadodara is a living example of how Maharashtra has been ill-treated. All the projects that were coming to Maharashtra were snatched away from them...There are two Chief Ministers working for Gujarat...The project which would have benefitted lakhs of our youth and created employment was taken away from Maharashtra...The Mahayuti government only believes in staying in power not the benefit of the public," she said.
#WATCH | Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi says, "The inauguration (TATA Aircraft Complex for manufacturing C-295 aircraft) by the Prime Minister in Vadodara is a living example of how Maharashtra has been ill-treated. All the projects that were coming to Maharashtra… pic.twitter.com/kXK1nNipWn
— ANI (@ANI) October 28, 2024
Top Headlines
Trending News
