New Delhi: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar on Thursday criticised the Union government and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's leadership after Maharashtra lost the multi-crore Vedanta-Foxconn project to Gujarat. He said that the Centre's promise to give a "bigger" project to Maharashtra than this is like "convincing a child".
"Since the project has already gone out of Maharashtra, there is no possibility of getting it back. There is no point in talking about it, but for the upcoming projects, Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde must lead to creating a favourable environment for the investors," the former chief minister said at a presser held in Pune, news agency ANI reported.
Criticising PM Narendra Modi's assurance for Maharashtra, he added, "I also heard that the discussion with the Prime Minister was also held where he promised that he will be helping out with some other bigger project to Maharashtra, this is like trying to convince a child".
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The remarks came after Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Limited and Taiwan's Foxconn on Tuesday signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with the Gujarat government for setting up a semiconductor and display FAB manufacturing unit in the state with an investment of over Rs 1.54 lakh crore.
According to ANI, the Vedanta-Foxconn group under the MoU will set up a Display Fab Unit in Gujarat with an investment of Rs 94,500 crore as well as an integrated Semiconductor Fab Unit and OSAT facility in Gujarat with an investment of Rs 60,000 crore.
The two MoUs, together, are set to bring an investment of more than Rs 1.54 lakh crore and generate around 1 lakh new employment opportunities in the state, as informed by Gujarat Education Minister Jitu Vaghani during an event in Gandhinagar.
Shiv Sena Criticises Shinde Govt For Losing Project That Was 'Almost Finalised'
After the deal was finalised, opposition leaders of Maharashtra criticised the Shinde government for letting it go. Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray criticised the Sena-BJP Maharashtra government as he said, "Although I'm glad to see this in India, I am also a little bit shocked."
The former Maharashtra minister stated that he had worked on the deal and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government had almost finalised it.
"For a project almost finalised, and a new dispensation claiming credit over it, only shows lack of commitment from the new dispensation for our State's progress," Aaditya said.
"Industries Minister Subhash Desai Ji, the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) and I myself held meetings for bringing this semiconductor project to Maharashtra. The MVA Government had brought this to the final stage. Under the MVA, our effort was to make Maharashtra, the lead state contributor to India's progress, just like other states in a healthy competition," the Shiv Sena leader stressed, as quoted by ANI.
We Decided On Gujarat As It Met Our Expectations: Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal
Meanwhile, Vedanta Resources Ltd Chairman Anil Agarwal on Wednesday said that the company was still committed to investing in Maharashtra. He maintained that the company chose Gujarat for the deal on the basis of professional and independent advice.
"We decided on Gujarat few months ago as it met our expectations. But in the July meeting with Maharashtra leadership, they made a huge effort to outbid other states with a competitive offer. We have to start in one place and based on professional and independent advice, we chose Gujarat," he wrote in a series of tweets.
"We are committed to investing in Maharashtra. We will soon create a hub where Maharashtra will be part of our forward integration," Agarwal further stated. "Vedanta-Foxconn have been assessing the sites and engaging in dialogue with state governments for the last two years, and we hope to continue these conversations for the growth of our country in years to come," he added.
(With Agency Inputs)