Vedanta-Foxconn project: New govt shouldn’t blame us, instead introspect, says Uddhav

Sources said that while Thackeray claimed that he does not have a problem if any project goes to Gujarat, he also told Sena workers that he is pained that Maharashtra did not get the project.

Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena, also accused the BJP of trying to corner her party with the denial of permission for the rally on October 5. (File Photo)

In his first reaction after the Vedanta-Foxconn project was shifted to Gujarat, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday asked the Shinde-Fadnavis government to introspect on its own shortcomings, rather than blaming the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) for Maharashtra losing the project.

“Maharashtra was to get the project. The company wanted it to be here. The MVA government made all efforts for this. But don’t know what happened in the last two-and-a-half months of the new government and who is responsible for this project going to Gujarat? They should not blame us, instead they should introspect,” Thackeray reportedly told party vibhag pramukhs during a meeting at Shiv Sena Bhavan.

Also Read | Here’s how Gujarat pipped Maharashtra to win Vedanta-Foxconn’s $22 billion project

Sources said that while Thackeray claimed that he does not have a problem if any project goes to Gujarat, he also told Sena workers that he is pained that Maharashtra did not get the project.

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Thackeray also challenged the government to prove on paper if the MVA government was responsible for the project to slip out of the state, said a source.

He further instructed party functionaries to create awareness about the issue among the public and give a befitting reply to the “misconceptions” being spread against Sena and MVA, a source added.

Thackeray is also learnt to have told party workers that the Centre did not support Maharashtra government in getting the project.

Also Read | Vedanta-Foxconn shift: Frustration, anger in Maharashtra village as promise of Rs 73 lakh/acre compensation disappears

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray on Saturday hit back at Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis over his “Gujarat is no Pakistan” comment amid a row over the shifting of the Vedanta-Foxconn project to the neighbouring state. “Is Maharashtra Pakistan that you drove the project to Gujarat? What mistake has the youth of Maharashtra done?” asked Aaditya. He was speaking at an event to pay respect to social reformer and his great-grandfather Keshav Thackeray, also known as Prabhodankar Thackeray.

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Fadnavis had on Friday said Gujarat was “no Pakistan”, and accused the MVA government of graft. “Gujarat is no Pakistan. It is our brother. This is a healthy competition. We want to get ahead of Karnataka, and everyone. The Opposition’s policy was to stop everything, and with such policy, Maharashtra could not beat Gujarat,” he had said.

Also Read | The subtext in the Vedanta-Foxconn row: The age-old Maharashtra vs Gujarat tussle

At the meeting with party workers, meanwhile, Uddhav Thackeray is learnt to have reiterated that the annual Dussehra rally of Shiv Sena will be held at the traditional spot at Shivaji Park and asked party workers to prepare for the same.

The applications filed by the Sena factions led by Thackeray and Shinde, seeking a nod for the rally, are pending with the BMC.

In a veiled swipe at Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Thackeray said he heads the “original” Sena. Maintaining that Sena cannot be “snatched away or purchased”, he said, “We are the original party born out of decades of social work spanning four generations.

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He added that the attempts made in the past to weaken Shiv Sena by engineering splits and defections had failed and wouldn’t succeed even now.

WITH PTI INPUTS

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