On Monday, the Maharashtra government dismissed allegations from the Opposition claiming that several approved projects had been relocated to Gujarat from Maharashtra. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar accused the Opposition of spreading baseless information for electoral gain.
The current controversy stems from the Shiv Sena UBT and Congress’s assertion that a submarine tourism project slated for Nivati beach in Sindhudurg has been transferred to Gujarat. Recently, the Gujarat government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd for a submarine facility at Bet Dwarka, a small island off the coast of Dwarka city. Following reports about the Gujarat government’s MoU, local Shiv Sena legislator Vaibhav Naik alleged that the project from Sindhudurg was being shifted to Gujarat.
However, Pawar, who also oversees the finance portfolio, refuted the Opposition’s claims, stating that they were spreading misinformation ahead of upcoming elections. He emphasized that if Maharashtra had genuinely lost a project to another state, the government would not have remained silent.
“There is no truth in the Opposition’s allegations that projects are being moved from Maharashtra. How can it happen? If it were true, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and I would not have sat quietly,” Pawar asserted.
Accusing the Opposition of attempting to turn the public against the government through false claims, Pawar stated, “If anything has gone wrong, our cabinet will take corrective steps. But without reason, if anyone is resorting to defamation, then it should stop.”
In Sindhudurg, there are three assembly constituencies. While Shiv Sena UBT legislator Naik claimed that the tourism submarine project from his district had gone to Gujarat, the other two MLAs from the district — cabinet minister Deepak Kesarkar and BJP MLA Nitesh Rane — dismissed the assertion. Rane mentioned, “Not only Gujarat, but even the Kerala government is trying to implement similar projects in their states. The Sindhudurg project has not been moved anywhere. In fact, it was delayed because of former tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray. We will complete the project,”
Shiv Sena UBT leader Sanjay Raut had asserted that the submarine project, along with 16 other projects, had been relocated to Gujarat by “looting Maharashtra.” Responding to this, Pawar stated that he does not respond to statements from “non-entities.” However, Raut criticized Pawar, calling him a slave of BJP, and said, “Those who chose slavery, who are cowards, should not comment on us.”