Vibrant Gujarat by scraping Mumbai? Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut asks BJP

Shiv Sena MP and its spokesperson Sanjay Raut on Thursday asked the BJP that if it was accusing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of 'diverting' business from Maharashtra to her state, why was the Maharashtra BJP silent during Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel's visit to Mumbai on Thursday.

The Gujarat CM was in Mumbai on Thursday to hold a roadshow as a precursor event to the upcoming Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit to be held from January 10-12 next year in Gandhinagar. He, along with a high-level delegation, met business leaders and industry executives in Mumbai's Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.

"Gujarat was becoming 'self-reliant' by feeding on Mumbai," Raut remarked. "The Gujarat Chief Minister has brought half of his Cabinet to Mumbai for the Vibrant Gujarat Summit."

"The BJP was absurdly accusing Mamata Banerjee of trying to 'rob' Maharashtra after she met industrialists in Mumbai on Wednesday. They accused her of trying to rob the state of its industries by taking them to West Bengal. Today, the Gujarat CM is meeting Mumbai industrialists with half of his Cabinet and organising a roadshow here. But the Maharashtra BJP leadership is conspicuously silent about this, why," he asked.


The Rajya Sabha member from the Shiv Sena in Marathi and English tweets, expressed his anguish over Bhupendra Patel's roadshow in Mumbai. In his Marathi tweet, he asked 'did the Chief Minister of Gujarat come to Mumbai to become self-reliant?' Raut also attached the photograph of an advertisement in a newspaper featuring Patel's road show in Mumbai.

In his English tweet, Raut said: "When W Bengal CM met industrialists in Mumbai, BJP's stomach got upset, it alleged that she is here to rob industries from Maharashtra. Today, Gujrat CM is meeting the industrialists with half of his cabinet and organising roadshow in Mumbai. Vibrant Gujarat by scraping Mumbai?"

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ashish Shelar had some time ago demanded that the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra should announce the official details of the meeting between Banerjee and Shiv Sena Minister Aditya Thackeray.


"There seems to be some conspiracy over Ms. Banerjee's Mumbai visit. Is the ruling Shiv Sena facilitating the migration of industries from Maharashtra to West Bengal?" Shelar asked.

Accusing the Sena of "betraying Maharashtra's interests", he alleged that Banerjee and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray were joining forces to allegedly 'destabilise' both the states.

"The Shiv Sena has proved to be a traitor to Maharashtra. While we have no objection to employment opportunities being generated across India or Banerjee being welcomed here, but how can the Sena, a ruling party, 'help' in taking away businesses and industries in Maharashtra and West Bengal. Why was Banerjee's meeting with the Sena held in secret? Is this the same person who was responsible for driving the Tatas out of her state (Tata Nano-Singur controversy)?" asked Shelar. -IANS