Maharashtra: Aaditya Thackeray to lead 'Jan Aakrosh agitation' where Vedanta-Foxconn project was proposed

Former Maharashtra Minister Aaditya Thackeray, in a bid to corner the Shinde-Fadnavis government over the loss of the Vedanta-Foxconn project to Gujarat, on Thursday announced that the party has organised an agitation titled ‘’Jan Aakrosh Andolan’’ at Talegaon in Pune district on September 24 where the project site was earmarked.

Shiv Sena has chosen Pune as the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government had selected Talegaon in the Pune district for the semiconductor project being proposed by Vedanta Foxconn.

The state-run Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation had earmarked 1,100 acres of land of which 400 acres was to be handed over to the company free of cost and the remaining 700 acres at 75 per cent value. The Maharashtra government had proposed a subsidy of Rs 2200 crore to be provided to the company for land transfer.

A senior Shiv Sena leader told the Free Press Journal, "The party will expose the Shinde-Fadnavis government’s failure to bring the project in Maharashtra with an initial investment of Rs 1.60 lakh crore and 1 lakh jobs. The government’s inaction has not merely led to the loss of investment to Gujarat but also 1 lakh jobs for youths from the state. Aaditya will lead the agitation to flag off these issues."

Another leader said the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government and due to the efforts by former industries minister Subhash Desai and Aaditya, the project would have come up at Talegaon. The government and MIDC had created the necessary framework for the Vedanta-Foxconn project, he said. "However, the Shinde Fadnavis government did not act timely as two months were wasted that led to the project going to Gujarat," he noted.

Already, the Shiv Sainiks and Yuva Sena workers last week had staged the protest but Aaditya wants to take it further.