‘Not right to take from 1 state to benefit another’: Congress leader T S Singh Deo slams Mahayuti for diverting projects to Gujarat

While outlining Congress’s vision, Singh Deo criticised the BJP for providing false hopes to Maharashtra’s public, claiming that developmental projects have been shifted to Gujarat in recent years, calling these actions “hollow promises”.

He highlighted that under the Mahayuti government, the Tata-Airbus, Vedanta Foxconn, bulk drug park, and submarine tourism projects were all redirected from Maharashtra to Gujarat.

“The Vedanta Foxconn project alone cost Maharashtra a loss of Rs 1.54 lakh crore and over 1 lakh jobs. Of the five semiconductor units planned for India, four were approved for Gujarat. What kind of ‘Gujarat Model’ is this?” he questioned.

Singh Deo also blamed the Mahayuti for the migration of 37 IT companies from Hinjewadi IT Park and 50 manufacturing units from Chakan due to poor infrastructure. “Even Maharashtra’s dairy sector, such as Mahanand Dairy, is being handed over to Gujarat. There have also been attempts to shift Maharashtra’s diamond trade, like the Mumbai BKC diamond business, to Gujarat. However, after opposition and logistical challenges, these were retained at Mumbai’s Bharat Diamond Bourse,” he said.

He also brought up former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s 2004 vision of transforming Mumbai into a global city akin to Shanghai, which included planning the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) for Mumbai in 2007. However, this was later relocated to Gujarat in 2021 by the Narendra Modi government. “No objection was raised by the Devendra Fadnavis administration, leading to a diversion of Rs 1.63 lakh crore in FDI to Gujarat during 2020-21, placing Gujarat at the top in FDI rankings—a position Maharashtra once held,” Singh Deo added.

He further outlined the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA’s) economic and industrial policy goals, unveiled on November 10 as ‘Maharashtra Nama’. He stated that, if in power, MVA would initiate recruitment for 2.4 lakh state government vacancies within the first 100 days.

“Our goal is to generate 1.25 million jobs over the next five years, aiming for 12 per cent growth in the industrial sector and 15 per cent in services. By 2030, we aim to position Maharashtra as the leader in per capita income,” Singh Deo concluded.