Aaditya Thackeray on Vedanta-Foxconn project: one engine of double-engine govt has failed

Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray on Friday took a dig at the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government over Vedanta-Foxconn choosing Gujarat over Maharashtra to set up its semiconductor plant, saying that "one engine of the double-engine government has failed".

Addressing party workers in Ratnagiri as part of the 'Shiv Samvad Yatra', the home district of rebel Sena MLA and state Industries Minister Uday Samant, Thackeray said the CM as well as the minister were clueless about the details of the project.

"How did the project go out of Maharashtra when we had done so much follow-up with Vedanta? The chief minister and the industries minister were clueless about this," Thackeray said in the rally.

In any other state, the chief minister would have asked for the industries minister's resignation, he said.

He said the state government was also unaware that a bulk drug park also slipped out of the hands of the state and is coming up in Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat.

"How did one engine of the double-engine government fail?" he asked.

Double engine government is the term the BJP uses for its government at the Centre and another in the state which it claims can help in seamless development.

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He said the state government was also unaware of another project by Airbus, which could come up in Nagpur. It was only after he raised the issue that the state government woke up and said they will ensure that it comes up in the state.

Thackeray also trained his guns at the rebel MLAs led by Shinde and said they "back-stabbed" his father and the then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray when he was ailing.

A political blame game started after Vedanta-Foxconn signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Gujarat government on Tuesday to set up a semiconductor and display manufacturing unit in the state. As per the MoU, the joint venture of the Indian conglomerate Vedanta and Taiwanese electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn will set up a semiconductor and display manufacturing unit in the state.

Vedanta-Foxconn would invest Rs 1,54,000 crore to set up the facility, which is expected to create one lakh job opportunities.