A massive political blame game has erupted in Maharashtra as the Gujarat government bagged the Rs 1.54 lakh crore project, a joint venture of mining conglomerate Vedanta and Taiwanese manufacturing giant Foxconn, to set up a semiconductor plant in the state. Officials in Maharashtra said the state had reached advanced stages of talks with the JV to set up a plant in the state, but failed to get the project located there.

On Tuesday, the Gujarat government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Vedanta-Foxconn to set up a semiconductor plant in the state, a development that Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded as an important step in accelerating India’s semiconductor manufacturing ambitions.

Also Read: Vedanta-Foxconn sign MoU with Gujarat govt to set up semiconductor unit in state with Rs 1.54 lakh cr investment

“The investment of Rs 1.54 lakh crore will create a significant impact to boost the economy and jobs. This will also create a huge ecosystem for ancillary industries and help our MSMEs,” PM Modi said, congratulating the Gujarat government.

Anil Agarwal, Chairman of Vedanta Resources Limited, also took to Twitter to thank the Gujarat government and the Union IT Minister “who have helped Vedanta tie things up so quickly”. 

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“History gets made! Happy to announce that the new Vedanta-Foxconn semiconductor plant will be set up in Gujarat. Vedanta’s landmark investment of Rs 1.54 lakh crores will help make India’s Atmanirbhar Silicon Valley a reality,” Agarwal tweeted, adding that the project will help the PM’s “vision of creating a robust manufacturing base in India”, and “reduce our electronics imports & provide 1 lakh direct skilled jobs to our people”. 

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The Eknath Shinde government, however, came under fire from political opponents who blamed the ruling government for lack of commitment in allowing the prestigious project to slip out of its hands. 

“Although I’m glad to see this in India, I am a bit shocked to see this. New dispensation had tweeted photos, claiming to have brought this to Maharashtra, but it seems intent/ commitment was to send this away from Maharashtra. Our MVA Govt had brought this to final stage,” former Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray tweeted.

According to The Indian Express, officials involved in the negotiations said higher incentives offered by the Gujarat government could be the reason why Maharashtra could not bag the project. Officials said Vedanta-Foxconn’s MoU came “within two months” of “almost” finalising the plan for the plant in Maharashtra at a meeting with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Responding to the criticism, Maharashtra Industries Minister Uday Samant sought to shift the blame to the erstwhile MVA government. “Why didn’t the MVA government offer a better incentive package to the company?” he asked, adding that he had recently taken charge of the department and would probe why the company chose Gujarat over Maharashtra. 
The Shinde government also came in for criticism from the Congress which questioned how the state government did not get a whiff of the project going to Gujarat. Congress leader and former minister Balasaheb Thorat also demanded to know what efforts the ruling government made to keep the project in the state.

Notably, the Shinde government had almost gone to the extent of celebrating Maharashtra bagging the Vedanta-Foxconn project after officials of the JV had met Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis to discuss the setting up of the facility in the state. 

Following the meeting in July, just after the new dispensation had taken charge, Shinde said that Vedanta, along with Foxconn, could play “a pivotal role as the anchor investor in creating the next Silicon Valley”. Fadnavis too had said that Maharashtra was a “natural choice” for the semiconductor manufacturing plant.

Congress leader and former minister Balasaheb Thorat also questioned why no one in the state had any information that the project was going to Gujarat. He wanted to know what efforts Maharashtra made to keep the project in the state.