Centre surrendered Maharashtra’s interests: Congress on Tata-Airbus facility in Gujarat
Party claims aircraft facility in Vadodara was meant to be set up in Nagpur; says people of Maharashtra will give befitting reply to Modi, his colleagues for their 'betrayal'
The Congress has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Eknath Shinde government in Maharashtra of conspiring a “wholesale surrender of Maharashtra’s interests” in getting new projects or seeking central support.
Stating that the newly-inaugurated Tata-Airbus C-295 aircraft facility in Vadodara is a case in point, the party has said that the people of Maharashtra will give a befitting reply to the prime minister and his colleagues “for their betrayal of the state”.
‘C-295 aircraft facility was intended for Nagpur’
In a post on X, Congress general secretary in-charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh claimed that the aircraft facility which was earlier intended to be set up in Maharashtra’s Nagpur, was shifted to Gujarat in 2022 just ahead of the Assembly elections in the latter state.
“Today, the non-biological PM is in Vadodara to launch the Tata-Airbus C-295 aircraft facility. This exact same project was supposed to be set up in Nagpur, but was shifted to Gujarat in 2022 on the eve of the assembly elections there,” Ramesh said.
“One can only imagine the machinations that went on behind the scenes to ensure that Maharashtra lost out on this key investment,” the post added.
‘Centre-Mahayuti conspiracy’
The Congress leader said the aircraft facility is just one of the many examples where the “Centre and the Mahayuti government have conspired to ensure the wholesale surrender of Maharashtra’s interests in landing new projects or seeking central support”.
Also read: Maharashtra: Mahayuti used stint in power to push corporate cronies' interests, alleges Congress
Ramesh claimed that while former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh had planned to set up an International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in Mumbai in 2006, the project was sabotaged, costing Mumbai around 2 lakh jobs, and instead set up in Gujarat’s GIFT City.
“Mumbai and Surat have worked together to develop India’s diamond industry for decades, with Surat handling cutting and polishing, and Mumbai handling trading and export. However, a new Bharat Diamond Bourse was built in Surat. It is another matter that this move has failed entirely, with many diamond merchants moving their operations back to Mumbai,” he said.
‘Projects shifted from state’
Ramesh said in addition to the Tata-Airbus manufacturing plant, the (now-failed) Vedanta-Foxconn chip factory was also diverted from Maharashtra to Gujarat.
“The Textile Commissionerate Office, based in Mumbai for 80+ years, was suddenly shifted to Delhi last year, for no clear reason whatsoever, despite the fact that the Mumbai metropolitan region (MMR) remains a huge hub of textiles,” he said.
“The Dattopant Thengadi National Board for Workers Education & Development was also shifted from Nagpur to Delhi in 2021,” the post added.
Ramesh said while the Centre dragged foot on granting classical language status to Marathi for a decade, it woke up from slumber only ahead of the Assembly elections in Maharashtra and after “sustained pressure from the Indian National Congress and civil society organisations in Maharashtra”.
‘MVA doesn’t believe in playing favourites’
Asserting that while the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) does not believe in favouritism, the Congress, which is one of its constituents, never believed in taking projects away from states when it was in power.
Also read: Congress blasts Modi for ignoring demand for classical language status to Marathi
“When the industrialisation of Gujarat was underway in the 1970s and 80s, projects like Gujarat State Fertilisers and Chemicals Limited (GSFC), Gujarat Refinery, and IPCL were set up without taking away projects from other states.”