Big projects meant for Maharashtra are being shifted to Gujarat: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said big projects that were supposed to be set up in Maharashtra were being shifted to Gujarat with the Narendra Modi-led government in Delhi pulling the strings.

Stating that the TATA-Airbus plant set up in Surat was one such project, Gandhi, who was addressing a press conference in Mumbai, said there were multiple such projects that were to be set up in Maharashtra and were getting shifted to Gujarat at the instance of the Modi-led government.

Youths of Maharashtra have lost six lakhs jobs in the process, Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.

Polling for the Assembly elections in Maharashtra is slated to take place on Wednesday. The last date for campaigning in the state is Monday.

Ridiculing the prime minister’s slogan “ek hei to safe hei” (you are safe when you are united), Gandhi said only industrialist Gautam Adani was safe under the BJP regime and by 'unity', Modi meant the unity between him and Adani.

Gandhi said Modi was hell-bent on handing over the Dharavi Project to Adani from which the latter was expected to generate a profit of Rs 1 lakh crore. He added none of the clauses of the tender meant for the protection of the residents of Dharavi would be adhered to once the contract was awarded to the Adani Group.

On whether opposition to the Adani Group was a common threat binding the Congress to its MVA ally Shiv Sena (UBT), Rahul said both Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress were keen to protect the interest of the people of Maharashtra and would foil designs hatched to deprive them of what was their due.