Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 | Mahayuti government presided over 'wholesale surrender' of state’s interests: Congress

New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday accused the Mahayuti government of presiding over the "wholesale surrender" of Maharashtra's interests and claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided that the state does not deserve new projects or central support.

Congress general secretary-in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said soon enough, the people of Maharashtra will take their revenge on those who have betrayed the state.

"The Mahayuti government bears the dubious distinction of having presided over the wholesale surrender of Maharashtra’s interests," Ramesh said in a post on X.

The Congress and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) do not believe in playing favourites - "we believe in the equitable development of the entire country".

"New infrastructure projects, special investment zones, and modern industry should benefit all Indians, and not one state alone. 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," Ramesh said.

"Unfortunately, the Mahayuti’s puppet master -- the self-anointed nonbiological PM -- decided that Maharashtra does not deserve any new projects or Central support," He said.

An International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) has been set up only in GIFT City in Gujarat, Ramesh pointed out.

"Dr. Manmohan Singh in 2006 had begun the effort to set it up in Mumbai. Land in Bandra Kurla Complex had already been set aside for the IFSC. But that was sabotaged costing Mumbai potentially 2 lakh jobs," the Congress leader said.

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, he said.

However, a new Bharat Diamond Bourse was built in Sura, Ramesh said, adding that it is another matter that this move has failed entirely, with many diamond merchants moving their operations back to Mumbai.

Major industrial investments like the Tata-Airbus manufacturing plant, and the (now-failed) Vedanta-Foxconn chip factory, were all diverted from Maharashtra to Gujarat, he claimed.

"The Textile Commissionerate Office, based in Mumbai for 80 plus 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 and Development was also shifted from Nagpur to Delhi in 2021, the Congress leader said.

"The unfortunate fact is that the BJP is completely lacking in vision, and is unable to build anything. They can either sell PSUs or issue threats. Through the UP CM, decided that Bollywood must be shifted away from Mumbai.

"Instead of focusing on building a new media industry, instead of providing infrastructure or safety or any number of other incentives that could spark a cinema boom in UP, they decided instead that threats and arrests in Mumbai would be sufficient," he alleged.

Despite all the pressure exerted by the BJP, the industry with more than 100 years of history in Mumbai dating back to Dadasaheb Phalke is not going anywhere, Ramesh asserted.

The ruling Mahyuti alliance comprises Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, BJP and Ajit Pawar-led NCP while the opposition MVA comprises the Congress, the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP).

The Election Commission on Tuesday announced Maharashtra will vote in one phase on November 20.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar announced at a press conference here that the counting of votes will be held on November 23, a day before the current Maharashtra assembly completes its term.