Vedanta and Foxconn on Tuesday signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with the Gujarat government to set up a semiconductor manufacturing facility with an investment of Rs 1.54-lakh crore. However, the development has led to a political blame game in Maharashtra as the companies were in talks with the state government to set up the semiconductor manufacturing facility there.
Now, Maharashtra Leader of Opposition and NCP leader Ajit Pawar wrote to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday alleging that the Vedanta Foxconn project was shifted to Gujarat under “political pressure.”In his letter, Pawar asked Shinde to continue efforts to bring the project back to Maharashtra. “This is an effort to financially deprive Maharashtra,” he said. The Opposition has alleged that the Maharashtra government buckled under pressure from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who hails from Gujarat, and handed over the project, eyeing the upcoming Gujarat Assembly polls.
“The state government must take steps as required but ensure that the project does not go out of Maharashtra,” Ajit Pawar said. The MoUs were signed in the presence of Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Vedanta Group Chairman Anil Agarwal, among other officials.