Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said ‘Gujarat is no Pakistan, and it is our brother.’ He was reacting to the political controversy over losing the $ 20 billion Vedanta-Foxconn semiconductor project to neighboring State Gujarat.

Speaking at an event Fadnavis said –

“It is a healthy competition. We fell behind Gujarat in attracting foreign investment during Maha Vikas Aghadi’s tenure, but in the next two years, we will be ahead of Gujarat, Karnataka and everyone. Maharashtra should be on the top. I can’t keep it even at the second position and we won’t. Despite Vedanta Resources Limited chairman Anil Agarwal’s clarification tweet, the controversy is still going on. A day after taking over as Deputy Chief Minister, I met Mr. Agarwal and offered a tailor-made package, a better one when compared with the neighbouring State. But he told me that they were at an advanced stage with Gujarat. However, we made our efforts and tried every bit to convince them. The ones who did nothing are pointing fingers at us.The company took a decision on Gujarat before the new government in Maharashtra came to power. 10% commission had to be paid for availing any subsidy during Uddhav Thackeray led government in power in Maharashtra, and during that period, Gujarat surged ahead. The Opposition’s policy is to ‘stop everything’, and with such policy, Maharashtra could not beat Gujarat. The previous government opposed several mega projects, including a refinery in Ratnagiri and the Vadhavan port in Palghar, and stalled the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train and Mumbai Metro phase-III.”