"PM Modi In Maharashtra Because...": Congress Leader's Big Charge

Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole on Thursday claimed Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in the state to get some industries, including the diamond sector, to shift to neighbouring Gujarat.

He also alleged the BJP-led state government was looting Maharashtra on the instructions of "Delhi" (an apparent reference to the Centre).

PM Modi was in Shirdi in Ahmednagar district, where he inaugurated a massive devotees' complex of the renowned Sai Baba temple, the canal network of the Nilwande Dam, as well the 'Namo Shetkari Mahasanman Nidhi Yojana' under which 86 lakh farmers of the state will get Rs 12,000 each per year as aid.

"The activities of shifting mega investment projects from Maharashtra to Gujarat has been going on for the last one-and-half years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is touring the state today to shift diamond and other business activities in Mumbai to Surat (in Gujarat)," Mr Patole alleged.

"The Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government is making all efforts to reduce the importance of Mumbai in the country's economy. The state's BJP-led government is looting Maharashtra on the instructions of Delhi," he told reporters.

A vast diamond industry is being developed in Surat, which will take away Mumbai's business, he told reporters.

PM Modi is also here to issue pending works of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project, which is a burden on Maharashtra, Mr Patole claimed.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)