Shinde govt under Oppn attack after Guj bags Rs 1.54 lakh cr Foxconn project

As Indian conglomerate Vedanta and Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn jointly inked a pact to set up a semiconductor and display manufacturing unit in Gujarat, the opposition in Maharashtra on Tuesday slammed the Eknath Shinde-led government for "losing" out on the Rs 1,54,000-crore project.

The Nationalist Congress Party, the main opposition outfit, accused the neighbouring state, ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party, of 'snatching morsel from Maharashtra's mouth.'

State NCP president and former minister Jayant Patil said with the project 'slipping' away from the hands of Maharashtra, the state has lost an investment potential of Rs 1 lakh crore.

Taking an aim at Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, whose government is being supported by the BJP, Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray said the Maha Vikas Aghadi, when it was in power, had "very strongly" pursued this project.

It was almost decided that the plant will come up in Maharashtra, said Thackeray, who served as a cabinet minister in the erstwhile MVA government headed by the Shiv Sena.

A joint venture of Vedanta, an oil-to-metals conglomerate, and Foxconn signed a memorandum of understanding with the Gujarat government on Tuesday to set up a semiconductor and display manufacturing unit in the state.

Vedanta-Foxconn would invest Rs 1,54,000 crore to set up the facility in Gujarat, which would create one lakh job opportunities, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said after the MoU was signed in the presence of Minister for Railways, Communications, Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw at a function in Gandhinagar.

This is the biggest-ever corporate investment in the history of independent India, said Gujarat Science and Technology Department Secretary Vijay Nehra, who signed the MoU on behalf of the state government.