Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said the Opposition parties in Maharashtra, who stalled key infrastructure projects when they were in power, are “shedding crocodile tears” over the shifting of the Vedanta-Foxconn semiconductor plant to Gujarat. Speaking to the media in Pune on Thursday, the Minister said the Uddhav Thackeray-led government, which had created hurdles in the execution of major projects in Maharashtra, was now alleging that projects were being taken away from the state.
“Who stopped the bullet train project in Maharashtra; who blocked the Rs 65,000-crore Wadhvan project in Palghar district; who stopped the Nanar refinery project; and who created hurdles for the Metro car shed project in Mumbai’s Aarey Colony,” she asked. She added, “Were these projects benefiting Gujarat? When you were in power, you stopped not one or two projects, but created hurdles for five projects. Now you shed crocodile tears in the name of Maharashtra’s interest,” she said.
Nirmala Sitharaman is currently on a three-day tour of the Baramati Loksabha constituency. Appointed as the party member in charge of the jurisdiction, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader met with her party colleagues in the Khadakwasla Legislative Assembly in the Dhankawadi area of Pune. The saffron party launched Mission Pravas under which party leaders will visit these 'weak' constituencies to empower workers there and motivate them ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. In Maharashtra, the party has zeroed in on 16 such constituencies - Baramati, the bastion of the Pawars, being one.