Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal on Wednesday, 14 September, said that it chose Gujarat as the site of its multi-billion dollar semiconductor manufacturing facility based on “professional and independent advice.”
This comes as opposition leaders in Maharashtra criticised Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his government for failing to secure the investment for his state.
Agarwal said that Vedanta, which is building a $19.5 billion chip fabrication and display manufacturing plant near Ahmedabad in partnership with Taiwan's Foxconn, is still committed to investing in Maharashtra.
"This multibillion dollar long-term investment will change the course of Indian electronics. We will create a pan-India ecosystem & are fully committed to investing in Maharashtra as well. Maharashtra will be our key to forward integration in our Gujarat JV," Agarwal wrote on Twitter.
False Claims for Political Mileage: Fadnavis
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis welcomed Agarwal's comments and criticised the opposition for spreading "negative, false, and baseless claims to gain political mileage."
"This is only to hide their own incompetence. I want to ask the opposition leaders, who sent back the Rs 3.5 lakh crore refinery from Maharashtra? My advice to these leaders is to focus on becoming competent and efficient, and not negative and desperate," he tweeted.
Fadnavis' comment was in reference to the proposed refinery project at the Nanar village in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district, which was to be a joint venture between Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum, and Saudi Arabia’s Aramco.
The project was slated to be Asia’s first green refinery, attract an investment of Rs 3 lakh crore, and employ one lakh people. Shiv Sena, which was then a Bharatiya Janata Party ally, had opposed and eventually scuttled the project.
What the Opposition Said
The Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and Shiv Sena leaders came down hard on the Shinde government for letting investment and employment slip away to Gujarat.
The opposition leader Ajit Pawar said, “The project relocation to Gujarat was out of political pressure. Ahead of Gujarat assembly polls, BJP leaders seem to have taken a decision, thus depriving Maharashtra its investment and employment share.”
"Eknath Shinde didn't just take away our 40 MLAs but also big projects of Maharashtra to Gujarat. Who is responsible for the loss of Rs 2 lakh crore and 1 lakh job opportunities in our state," Shiv Sena leader Aditya Thackeray said.
Congress spokesman Atul Londhe warned of a "massive protest" and said that Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis should not betray the state "by brokering a deal" for Gujarat.
"How did the Foxconn project go to Gujarat even though the infrastructure in Dholera is not favourable for it?" he asked and demanded to know the details of the July meeting between the Shinde government and Foxconn.
"If the project, which will provide 1 lakh jobs, is not brought back to Maharashtra, the Congress will stage a massive protest in support of unemployed youths," Londhe said.
NCP leader Supriya Sule alleged that Gujarat bagging the deal was part of a "conspiracy" to reduce Maharashtra's importance.
“It is part of a larger conspiracy to bring down the importance of Maharashtra, the only state in the country poised to become a trillion dollar economy," she told reporters.
“The Union government is consistently taking steps to demean Maharashtra. There will be a long-term setback for Maharashtra as we continue to lose more and more mega investment projects,” she said.
(With inputs from PTI.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)