'Everything is being taken to Gujarat': Uddhav Thackeray targets Maharashtra CM Shinde on losing major projects

Former Maharashtra chief minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) supremo Uddhav Thackeray has criticised the incumbent chief minister Eknath Shinde, accusing him of facilitating the relocation of various industrial projects from Maharashtra to Gujarat.

Thackeray mentioned that there had been no news of such moves during his tenure.

"When I was the chief minister, did you hear even a single news that any project from here went to Gujarat? In the last two and a half years, since this Mindhe (Shinde) became chief minister, so many industries have gone to Gujarat. Everything is being taken to Gujarat. Mumbai's economic centre has also been taken to Gujarat. We are not just fighting for power, but our fight is against the looting of Maharashtra," Thackeray said at an event in Ramtek where he unveiled a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

Thackeray pointed out that Maharashtra missed out on the Vedanta-Foxconn semiconductor project worth Rs 1.54 lakh crore, which was secured by Gujarat in September 2022.

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief also alleged that Union home minister Amit Shah seeks to "finish" him and senior NCP leader Sharad Pawar. He questioned the stance of RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat on BJP’s current approach.

"Mohan Bhagwatji (RSS chief), do you agree with the BJP's Hindutva? Goons are coming into this BJP, corrupt people are coming. Do you agree with this? Amit Shah is coming to finish me and Sharad Pawar, will you let us be finished? Only my people can finish me, not Amit Shah. If my people tell me to sit at home, I will sit at home, but if someone from Delhi tells me to sit at home, my people will make them sit at home. After our government came to power, I will stop the loot going on in Maharashtra," Thackeray said.

Thackeray continued with his attack on Shinde for the collapse of the Shivaji statue at the Malvan fort in Sindhudurg, calling it an embarrassment for the state.

The 35-foot-tall statue, which was unveiled on December 4 the last year, fell on August 26. This incident led to political disputes, with opposition leaders blaming the Shinde government for the mishap.