MUMBAI: Gujarat “Not Pakistanhe is our little brother,” said Deputy Minister Devendra Fadnavis as he sought to defuse political tensions over the loss of a 1.5 lakh crore semiconductor factory Foxconn-Vedanta to the neighboring country. The BJP accused MVA and special Shiv Sena increased social tension between Marathi and Gujarati speakers over the project conversion.
“Both states were founded on the same day. Both have been together. This is ultimately healthy competition. We want to be ahead of everyone and make Maharashtra number 1,” he said while addressing small-scale entrepreneurs at the Laghu Udyog Bharati conference in Mumbai on Friday night.
Attacking the opposition, Fadnavis said that “just by speaking against Gujarat you cannot defeat Gujarat, because that person needs policy.” “For 5 years, I make sure Maharashtra is at the top of Gujarat. Those who are speaking out against Gujarat have taken it to number 1 and pulled Maharashtra down. Finally, the investor considers what state the environment is in,” he added.
He claims that the day after being sworn in, he called the MIDC CEO to understand what was going on. “I am told the Foxconn-Vedanta project is leaning towards Gujarat and we need to act quickly. I even met the Vedanta chieftain at his house and told him that we will provide more than what Gujarat is offering. I told him we would make a custom package for them. Their people came to see the land. However, he told us that their decision to come to Gujarat was made… What did we do? We did our best to change their mind. Those who are now pointing fingers at us have done nothing for the past two years. During their tenure, Maharashtra lags behind Gujarat, but we will get ahead in the next two years.”
Strongly advocating the revival of the oil refinery project in Konkan and the Vadhawan port project in the state, Deputy CM said the focus will now be on infrastructure development.
Fadnavis said the implementation of the two projects will ensure Maharashtra remains at the forefront for the next two decades. He said the Rs 3.5 lakh refinery project is a joint venture between government oil and gas companies and a company from the Middle East.
“Both states were founded on the same day. Both have been together. This is ultimately healthy competition. We want to be ahead of everyone and make Maharashtra number 1,” he said while addressing small-scale entrepreneurs at the Laghu Udyog Bharati conference in Mumbai on Friday night.
Attacking the opposition, Fadnavis said that “just by speaking against Gujarat you cannot defeat Gujarat, because that person needs policy.” “For 5 years, I make sure Maharashtra is at the top of Gujarat. Those who are speaking out against Gujarat have taken it to number 1 and pulled Maharashtra down. Finally, the investor considers what state the environment is in,” he added.
He claims that the day after being sworn in, he called the MIDC CEO to understand what was going on. “I am told the Foxconn-Vedanta project is leaning towards Gujarat and we need to act quickly. I even met the Vedanta chieftain at his house and told him that we will provide more than what Gujarat is offering. I told him we would make a custom package for them. Their people came to see the land. However, he told us that their decision to come to Gujarat was made… What did we do? We did our best to change their mind. Those who are now pointing fingers at us have done nothing for the past two years. During their tenure, Maharashtra lags behind Gujarat, but we will get ahead in the next two years.”
Strongly advocating the revival of the oil refinery project in Konkan and the Vadhawan port project in the state, Deputy CM said the focus will now be on infrastructure development.
Fadnavis said the implementation of the two projects will ensure Maharashtra remains at the forefront for the next two decades. He said the Rs 3.5 lakh refinery project is a joint venture between government oil and gas companies and a company from the Middle East.
