'Gujarat not Pakistan', says Fadnavis; alleges graft in availing subsidy during Uddhav govt
Foxconn-Vedanta row
Mumbai, Sep 17: Under fire over Gujarat bagging the Vedanta-Foxconn semiconductor project, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said the neighbouring state was "no Pakistan", and also accused the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of graft.
"Ten per cent commission" had to be paid for availing of any subsidy when Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government was in power and Gujarat surged ahead during this period, the BJP leader claimed.
Without naming the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, Fadnavis targeted the party for opposing big-ticket projects like a refinery in Ratnagiri and Vadhavan port in Palghar, and for stalling the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train and Mumbai Metro phase 3.
After taking over as deputy chief minister he met Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal and the state offered a tailor-made package to the company to match up the Gujarat offer, but he was told that a decision to move the project to the neighbouring state was in its final stages, Fadnavis said.
"The decision was taken even before we came to power. When we came to power, we tried every bit. The ones who did nothing are pointing fingers at us," Fadnavis said.
Maharashtra fell behind Gujarat in attracting foreign investment during the MVA's tenure but in the next two years the present government would take Maharashtra ahead, said Fadnavis.
"Gujarat is no Pakistan. It is our brother. This is a healthy competition. We want to get ahead of Karnataka, everyone," Fadnavis said.
The opposition's policy was to "stop everything", and with such policy Maharashtra could not beat Gujarat, he said.
Foreign investment in the state in 2013 was USD 6 billion which rose to USD 26 billion when he was chief minister during 2014 to 2019, Fadnavis claimed.
"Unfortunately, in the last two years our position slipped and Gujarat topped the list and it went from USD 3 billion to USD 23 billion and investment in Maharashtra came down from USD 26 billion to USD 18 billion," the deputy CM said.
One can not beat the neighbouring state by "simply making statements" but policies are needed for it, he said.
He also alleged that commission had to be paid when the MVA was in power for every subsidy.
"In the last two years, for every subsidy announced, a 10 per cent commission had to be paid....From 2014-19, not a single paisa had to be given. If you have to pay bribe for getting subsidy then imagine the situation," he said, without naming the MVA.
Jamnagar refinery and Mundra port are key pillars of Gujarat's economy and the proposed refinery in Ratnagiri was supposed to be three times as big as the Jamnagar one, Fadnavis said.
But due to loss of time (on account of opposition to the project) the investment will be scaled down and Maharashtra had lost an opportunity, he said.
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UP man gets life term for electrocuting mentally challenged wife to death in Bareilly
Bareilly (UP) (PTI): A local court here has sentenced a man to life imprisonment for murdering his mentally challenged wife by repeatedly electrocuting her while she was tied to a cot, lawyers said on Thursday.
Additional district government counsel Harendra Singh Rathore said Additional Sessions Judge Avinash Kumar Singh on Wednesday convicted Vinod Kumar (45) for killing his wife, Satyavati, in Chaina village of Bareilly district and imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 on him.
According to the prosecution, he was allegedly frustrated with his wife Satyavati's mental illness and often assaulted her.
Rathore said the prosecution examined nine witnesses to establish the charges against him.
As per court records, on the night of May 1-2, 2022, when Satyavati was asleep, Vinod tied her hands and legs to a cot using ropes and then connected an aluminium cable to an electric board to repeatedly administer electric shocks to her.
"She writhed in pain, but the accused continued to electrocute her until she died," the prosecution said.
The court observed that the murder was carried out in an inhuman manner.
After committing the crime, the accused threw the rope and cable on the roof and left for work at a brick kiln around 2 am to create a false alibi.
He later tried to mislead the police and the victim's family by claiming that Satyavati, whose mental condition was unstable, had accidentally died by suicide after grabbing a live electric wire.
However, the victim's brother, Sanjeev, a resident of Shahjahanpur district, suspected foul play and lodged an FIR under sections 498A (husband subjecting wife to cruelty) and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code at Nawabganj police station.
During the trial, the prosecution relied on the post-mortem report prepared by Dr Faraz Anwar, who stated that multiple electrocution marks found on different parts of the victim's body could not have been self-inflicted.
The police also recovered the rope and electric wire used in the crime on the accused's identification, officials said.
