Aaditya Thackeray, the son of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray expressed his displeasure over the visit of Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel to Mumbai for an investor roadshow.
Thackeray accused Patel and the BJP-Shiv Sena government of Maharashtra, led by Eknath Shinde, of transferring industries and investments from Maharashtra to Gujarat.
Aaditya Thackeray, who was the environment, tourism and protocol minister in the Uddhav Thackeray government, posted a message on X (formerly Twitter), saying that Gujarat Chief Minister could have simply called Shinde and asked him to send more industries to Gujarat instead of coming to Mumbai.
He alleged that the BJP-Shiv Sena government, which he termed as the “Mindhe-BJP regime”, has already relocated several industries and projects from Maharashtra to Gujarat, such as Vedanta Foxconn, Airbus Tata, Bulk Drugs Park and many more.
He also criticized Shinde for going to Delhi for his own selfish reasons and not doing anything to attract investment for Maharashtra. He said that the only trip Shinde showcased as an investment was Davos, where he spent almost 40 crores of money in 28 hours.
Bhupendra Patel, who became the chief minister of Gujarat in September 2023 after Vijay Rupani’s resignation, was in Mumbai on Wednesday to promote the upcoming Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024.
He met with several industrialists and businessmen and invited them to invest in Gujarat. He said that Gujarat and Mumbai are two important pillars of India’s economy and that both will benefit from the development projects they are cooperating on.
Thackeray’s message on X was retweeted by Rajya Sabha member from Shiv Sena, Priyanka Chaturvedi, who also expressed a similar sentiment. She said that she did not understand why Patel took the trouble to come to Mumbai when Shinde and his two deputies are already serving the state of Gujarat by driving away industries from Maharashtra.
The BJP-Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra was formed in October 2022 after a split in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which was a coalition of Shiv Sena (UBT), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress.
The MVA had come to power in November 2019 after Shiv Sena (UBT) broke its alliance with BJP over the issue of chief ministerial post. However, in October 2022, Shiv Sena (UBT) joined hands with BJP again and ousted Uddhav Thackeray from the chief minister’s office. Eknath Shinde, a senior leader of Shiv Sena (UBT), became the new chief minister with the support of BJP.
The Congress and NCP, which are now in the opposition, also slammed the BJP-Shiv Sena government for allowing Patel to hold an investor roadshow in Mumbai. The president of Maharashtra Congress, Nana Patole, said that they are Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s people who looted Surat for Swarajya but today’s rulers are looting Maharashtra and giving it to Surat.
The NCP also questioned the BJP-Shiv Sena government’s commitment to Maharashtra’s development and accused them of promoting other states at its cost. The investor roadshow by Patel has sparked a political controversy in Maharashtra ahead of the crucial Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls, which are expected to be held in early 2024. The BMC is the richest civic body in India and has been controlled by Shiv Sena for over two decades.
However, after the split in the MVA, Shiv Sena (UBT) is facing a tough challenge from its former allies NCP and Congress as well as its current partner BJP.
The BMC polls are seen as a prestige battle for all the parties involved and a test of their popularity among the voters of Mumbai.
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