Who was responsible for nixing Nanar refinery, Fadnavis asks Opposition amid uproar on Foxconn row

Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has accused the opposition of making false claims over the Vedanta-Foxconn semiconductor plant going to Gujarat, and also questioned it over the Nanar refinery project.

Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress have sought to corner the state government following the announcement two days ago that the Rs 1.54 lakh crore semiconductor plant would be set up in Gujarat and not in Maharashtra as proposed earlier.

"It is disappointing that negative, false and baseless claims are being spread to gain political mileage. This is only to hide their own incompetence. I want to ask opposition leaders, who sent back Rs 3.5 lakh crore refinery from Maharashtra? My advice to these leaders is to focus on becoming competent & efficient and not negative and desperate, " Fadnavis, who is visiting Moscow, tweeted.

He also welcomed Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal's tweet that Maharashtra will be key to "forward integration" to the joint venture in Gujarat.

"We welcome your decision to choose Maharashtra for forward integration. We will always remain competitive and extremely business friendly," the BJP leader added.

The Thackeray-led Shiv Sena had sided with the locals who were opposed to the refinery project that was to come up at Nanar in the coastal Ratnagiri district.

Earlier, in a series of tweets, Agarwal said Vedanta-Foxconn JV had been professionally assessing site for the multi-billion dollar investment.

"This is a scientific and financial process which takes several years. We started this about 2 years ago," the industrialist said.

Vedanta-Foxconn has been professionally assessing site for a multi-billion dollar investment. This is a scientific and financial process which takes several years. We started this about 2 years ago. (1/4)

— Anil Agarwal (@AnilAgarwal_Ved) September 14, 2022

They shortlisted Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu and had been engaging with each of these governments as well as central government and "have received fantastic support," he said.

"We decided Gujarat few months ago as they met our expectations. But in July meeting with Maharashtra leadership, they made a huge effort to outbid other states with competitive offer. We have to start in one place and based on professional and independent advice we chose Gujarat," the Vedanta chairman said.

The multibillion dollar long-term investment will "change the course of Indian electronics", he said, adding that it will create a pan-India ecosystem and "we are fully committed to investing in Maharashtra as well." "Maharashtra will be our key to forward integration in our Gujarat JV," he added.