Mumbai: Maharashtra’s Opposition alliance on Thursday trained guns on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over his visit to Mumbai to attract investment in his state, saying there will be objection if he “snatches away” industries from the western state.
The CM on Thursday held a roadshow in the city, inviting industrialists and entrepreneurs to visit the northern state during the three-day ‘UP Global Investor Summit’ to be held in Lucknow from February 10-12.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader is travelling to eight states to promote the summit, covering big cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai, among others.
His roadshow in the financial capital sparked a war of words between the Opposition and the ruling BJP in Maharashtra.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), the state’s Opposition alliance consisting of the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), advised the saffron leader to avoid politics during his visit.
Sanjay Raut, a key leader of the Shiv Sena (UBT), asked about the need to hold a roadshow in Mumbai.
The Rajya Sabha member, whose party is a trenchant critic of the BJP, said the Uttar Pradesh chief minister can hold discussions with industrialists, but should avoid indulging in politics during his visit.
“I had said yesterday if he has come to meet industrialists for the progress of his state, then there is no objection. But there will be objection if industries are snatched away from us (Maharashtra).
“If they are doing a roadshow for investment, then it is surprising. What is the need for that? Have you come to do politics or take help from Mumbai for the development of your state?” Raut asked while talking to reporters.
Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe said the biggest hurdle in attracting investment in Uttar Pradesh is the “atmosphere” created by Adityanath in the state, where the BJP retained power in the 2022 Assembly polls.
Investment in Uttar Pradesh will be possible only if he works on improving the law and order situation in the country’s most populous state, he said.
“You foment religious tension and create differences on the basis of castes. Law and order is in a bad shape. So why should any industry come to Uttar Pradesh? The biggest hurdle is the atmosphere you (Adityanath) have created,” Londhe said.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)’s national (rpt national) spokesperson Clyde Crasto (rpt Clyde Crasto) sought to know when will Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis go to Uttar Pradesh or Gujarat and ask people there to “Dream in their state, but make it reality in Maharashtra in form of investment?”
Countering the Opposition attack, Deputy Chief Minister Fadnavis, a BJP leader, asserted no one can take away businesses from Maharashtra.
“There is no reason to fear, but we must be proud of (Mumbai). Whoever can say whatever they want, but Mumbai remains the financial capital of the country. If anyone has to do any industrial summit or attract industries, then they have to come to Mumbai. No one can take away anyone’s industries,” he said.
Last year, the Shinde-Fadnavis government faced flak over big-ticket projects like the Vedanta-Foxconn semiconductor plant and the Tata-Airbus aircraft venture preferring Gujarat over Maharashtra.
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