Fadnavis was challenged by Aaditya Thackeray to reveal the name of the Tata official who claimed that Maharashtra was not having a conducive environment under MVA rule

Aaditya Thackeray, a leader of the Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and a former minister, on Monday, dared the Deputy Chief Minister, Mr. Devendra Fadnavis, to reveal the name of the Tata Group official who had informed him that there was no favourable environment for the industry in Maharashtra, particularly for the Tata Airbus defence transport plane project.

 

"I challenge the Deputy Chief Minister to cite the senior Tata executive who opined that Maharashtra's environment is unsuitable. The ruling party is the one who bullies, and we pose no threat to anyone. DCM should make public the name of the officer in question (who had met him while he was the head of the opposition) and the fact that Maharashtra's Maha Vikas Aghadi administration did not foster a favourable business climate. Just a few minutes after Mr. Fadnavis's statement, Mr. Thackeray added, "We (the MVA administration) were told (by the Tata Group) that they had to travel wherever the central government tells them.

 

Why did Union Minister Mr. Nitin Gadkari and the rest of us write a letter if this proposal—the establishment of the Tata Airbus project in Gujarat—was made in September 2021? We may not know, but if you started following in 2016, you have failed. Despite your government in the state and at the federal level, you were unable to get this project to MIHAN in Nagpur between 2016 and 2019," alleged Mr. Thackeray. He emphasized that the Shinde Fadnavis administration cost Maharashtra the Tata Airbus project.

 

"It is a play of lying, and it needs to end right away. According to the Deputy Chief Minister, the rivalry has grown in several of the nation's states. But where does Maharashtra fall short in terms of the competition? On this, I challenge them. I'll discuss this with the Chief Minister after he accepts the challenge. I won't accept the CM's challenge till then," said Mr. Thackeray.

 

Regarding the Vedanta Foxconn project, Mr. Thackeray asserted that Mr. Fadnavis was misrepresenting the situation and made it clear that the Vedanta Foxconn semiconductor project was distinct from the Foxconn deal for mobile manufacturing. "I have never witnessed or heard such an attempt to deceive the public and the press in a press conference. By blaming the Center, Mr. Fadnavis is attempting to hide the shortcomings of the illegal government.

 

Maybe his team gave Mr. Devendra Fadnavis erroneous information. In January 2020, the Foxconn project for the assembly and production of mobile phones that Fadnavis started left Maharashtra. According to Mr. Thackeray, this concept was introduced to Maharashtra in 2016 as part of the "Magnetic Maharashtra" programme under the Devendra Fadnavis administration. He continued by saying that the project was moved first to Tamil Nadu and then to the US, where production is now taking place.

 

 

He clarified the project for "semiconductor chips" at Vedanta Foxconn. The project for "mobile" phones that Fadnavis discussed in the press conference. So I'm asking Devendra Fadnavis, deputy chief minister, to stop misinforming Maharashtra. Stop attempting to malign Maharashtra, he said. From January 5, 2022, until June 24, 2022, Mr. Thackeray provided a schedule for the MVA administration's efforts to lure the Vedanta Foxconn project to Maharashtra, noting that "The subsidy granted by the MVA government to Vedanta Foxconn was larger than Gujarat." What would happen to the 2022 meetings if Vedanta Foxconn travelled to Gujarat in 2021?

 

 

Image Courtesy: Twitter @AUThackeray