NCP leader Supriya Sule calls political parties to gang up against Centre over Vedanta Foxconn deal

Supriya Sule. File Photo

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Supriya Sule on Wednesday protested against the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government over the Vedanta Foxconn deal with Gujarat for a semiconductor facility and called political parties to fight with the centre.

"It is a huge disappointment as over 3 lakh students are going to be deprived of jobs. All political parties should come together and fight this with the centre," NCP MP said.

Launching a scathing attack on Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, Sule said, "Shinde was an integral part of the earlier government. What was he doing then, why didn't he say anything? He is the current CM for over 2 months now, if he wants to lead, he needs to take responsibility and be accountable."

Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray also on Wednesday slammed the Maharashtra government for letting the Vedanta deal slip away from the state and questioned the uninterestedness of the Shinde camp."After Vedanta- Foxconn loss, the Bulk Drug Park that the MVA Government had meritoriously pursued, has been lost to 3 States- Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, by the current unconstitutional dispensation in our State, due to its lack of interest in development," tweeted Thackeray.

Also Read: Vedanta-Foxconn project going to Gujarat is part of conspiracy: NCP MP Supriya Sule

He also stressed that Maharashtra was the first to demand it and sought an explanation on why Maharashtra was not considered.

Outlining the repercussions of the slipping away of the deal, he said," Eknath Shinde didn't just take away our 40 MLA's but also big projects of Maharashtra to Gujarat. Who is responsible for the loss of 2 lakh crore and 1 lakh job opportunities in our state."

Notably, Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Limited and Taiwan's Foxconn on Tuesday signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with the Gujarat government for setting up a semiconductor and display FAB manufacturing unit in the state with an investment of over Rs 1.54 lakh crore.

The agreement was signed in presence of the Chief Minister of Gujarat Bhupendra Patel and the Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw. Minister for Education, Science and Technology, Government of Gujarat Jitubhai Vaghani was also present on the occasion.

The Vedanta-Foxconn group under the MoU will set up a Display Fab Unit in Gujarat with an investment of Rs 94,500 crore as well as an integrated Semiconductor Fab Unit and OSAT facility in Gujarat with an investment of Rs 60,000 crore.

The two MoUs, together, will bring an investment of more than Rs 1.54 lakh crore and generate around 1 lakh new employment opportunities in the state, stated Jitu Vaghani during the event at a Hotel in Gandhinagar.

The proposed investment by Vedanta and Foxconn Group for setting up India's first display manufacturing fab unit and an Integrated Semiconductor fab unit with an OSAT facility will further support the development of upstream and downstream electronics manufacturing clusters and the establishment of healthy trade linkages.