Maharashtra was at top spot for 4 consecutive years with him as chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis said
BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday claimed that Maharashtra has slipped to the third spot from the top in attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) under the Shiv Sena-led government.
Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, the former chief minister also asked the Sena to change its stand on the Nanar refinery and support it and other big-ticket projects.
"Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said that Maharashtra attracted huge investments during the COVID-19 pandemic. I am happy about it but many of these MoUs were done during our government and even land had been allotted," Mr Fadnavis said.
The Shiv Sena-led government signed fresh Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) for the same projects, he claimed, adding that he welcomes the flow of investment to Maharashtra.
"However, there is a matter of concern about the recent FDI numbers for states announced by the RBI where Maharashtra has gone down to number three," Devendra Fadnavis claimed.
When he was chief minister, Maharashtra was at number one spot for four consecutive years and in two of these years the state received upto 44 percent of entire FDI flow in the country, he said.
A recent Reserve Bank of India (RBI) report shows that Gujarat and Karnataka were in the first and second spot as FDI destination and Maharashtra was behind them, he added.
"Lot of investment is exiting China after COVID-19 and India is attracting this investment. It should come to Maharashtra," Mr Fadnavis said.
"I feel the chief minister should concentrate on this," he said.
Devendra Fadnavis also claimed that he recently heard a Shiv Sena MLA stating that local farmers are now ready to give land for Jaitapur nuclear power project in Ratnagiri district after receiving adequate compensation.
"I feel happy that the Shiv Sena which always protests against such projects is changing its line. The biggest refinery in the country was coming up at Nanar with an investment of Rs 2.5 lakh crore... but the Shiv Sena protested saying there was local opposition," he said.
The Sena should change its stand on such big projects, Mr Fadnavis said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)