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.   

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“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.

Earlier, the Minister addressed beneficiaries of various Central Government schemes, including the PM KISAN, PM Ujjwala Yojana, the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana, Swachh Bharat Mission and Ayushman Bharat, at the ‘Labharthi Samvad’ in Varve Budruk village near Pune.

Of 36.54 crore Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) loans sanctioned till August 26, 2022, 2.89 crore PMMY loan accounts were sanctioned in Maharashtra. Sitharaman handed over keys of tractors and cold storage vans purchased with agri-related subsidies granted by the Centre.  

Sitharaman also addressed BJP workers in Baramati Lok Sabha constituency, which is represented by Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule.

(With PTI inputs)

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