The central government announced on Thursday, 27 October, that Tata and Airbus will manufacture transport planes for the Indian Air Force, and the state that has bagged the project is Gujarat.
Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay its foundation stone on 30 October.
The new project, costing almost Rs 22,000 crore, has been announced on the heels of the 2022 Gujarat election. Thousands of jobs have been promised as well.
Why Is This Controversial?
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Aaditya Thackeray, son of former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, asked "Why is every project going to other states?"
Thackeray is asking the industry minister, Uday Samant, to resign after four projects for the state were lost by the government.
What are the Other Projects in Question?
Vedanta-Foxconn Project
A joint venture of Indian mining conglomerate Vedanta and Taiwanese manufacturing giant Foxconn was shifted from Maharashtra to Gujarat at the very last minute.
The talks with the Maharashtra government, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, were reportedly "almost final" in July 2022.
While Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Karnataka were among the other states in competition, the companies chose to invest more than Rs 16,000 crore to set up a semiconductor project in Gujarat.
Bulk Drug Park Project
Aaditya Thackeray claimed in September that Maharashtra had lost out on another big project, this time the bulk Drug Park project.
Indeed, according to a notification issued by the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, the Department of Pharmaceuticals "has conveyed 'in-principle' approval to the proposals of the three States Viz, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh under the Scheme for "Promotion of Bulk Drug Parks".
The scheme, which would be supported by the centre, has a financial outlay of Rs 3,000 crore. It would:
Provide for financial assistance to three states for establishing Bulk Drug Parks
Aim to bring down the cost of manufacturing of bulk drugs by creation of world-class common infrastructure facilities
Promotion of Medical Devices Parks Scheme
Another project proposal by the Maharashtra government that was rejected by the central government was setting up a medical devices park in Aurangabad called the "Promotion of Medical Devices Parks" scheme.
While the Rs 424-crore medical devices park was proposed for Aurangabad, the Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers approved proposals from four states - Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh.
On the issue, Aaditya Thackeray had lashed out at the Shinde-Fadnavis government.
Deputy CM Fadnavis hit out against Thackeray, saying, "I will ask him to show one letter that the medical devices park was sanctioned in Maharashtra and later shifted to another state," as reported by Hindustan Times.
'Khoke Sarkar': What is the Opposition Saying?
The Thackerays' party Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have launched a blistering attack on Shinde-Fadnavis government, insinuating that they are puppets of the Modi government.
For instance, NCP spokesperson Mahesh Tapase was quoted as saying:
"After Vedanta, the Tata-Airbus project has gone to Gujarat due to the incompetence of the CM as he has repeatedly failed in retaining key projects in the state. Shinde has surrendered to BJP and is busy protecting his own seat. He must accept his failure and resign immediately."NCP spokesperson Mahesh Tapase
Priyanka Chaturvedi, who is a spokesperson of the Uddhav Thackeray faction, used the phrase 'Khoke sarkar' for the Shinde-Fadnavis government, as reported by the Indian Express.
"Vedanta-Foxconn, medical device park, bulk drugs park and now the Tata-Airbus project… All have gone out of Maharashtra… Thanks to the 50 'Khoke sarkar'… they were busy counting 50 Khoke & doing ‘ji hazoori’ in the Delhi Darbar. Maharashtra continues to suffer at the expense of their cheap politics. Shame on them."Priyanka Chaturvedi, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray)
While the BJP claims that the opposition is "misleading people" by making baseless charges, the fact that these four projects are ultimately not going to be established in Maharashtra has given a significant amount of ammunition to attack the Shinde-Fadnavis government. Can the Thackerays and the NCP be able to really capitalise on it?
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