Anger among youth in Maharashtra over ‘flight’ of projects from State, says Ajit Pawar at NCP camp

Two-day Manthan Shivir begins, unwell Sharad Pawar to guide workers via videoconferencing

Remarking that there was tremendous anger among youth in Maharashtra today owing to mega projects that could have guaranteed lakhs of jobs going out of the State, Maharashtra Leader of Opposition (LoP) and senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar on Friday said that the longer the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis stayed in power, the faster the rate of unemployment would increase in the State.

Alluding to the Delhi visits of CM Shinde and Deputy CM Fadnavis, Mr. Pawar alleged that the powers in Delhi [Modi government] did not allow them to bat for Maharashtra’s development.

He was speaking at the start of the NCP’s two-day Manthan Shivir in Shirdi [in Ahmednagar district] to guide party workers. Most senior party leaders like NCP State President Jayant Patil and Baramati MP Supriya Sule were present.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar recently admitted to Mumbai’s Breach Candy hospital, remained absent as doctors had prohibited him from travelling. However, the NCP supremo participated via video-conferencing and is likely to address workers through online mode on November 5 in the event he still is not discharged from the hospital.

Mr. Ajit Pawar rounded on the Shinde-Fadnavis government, particularly the raging issue of the alleged ‘flight’ of big-ticket investment from Maharashtra to neighbouring States, notably Gujarat.

“It is only due to the present government’s incompetence that large projects have pulled out and lakhs of jobs have been lost to the youth. There is a surge of anger among them… the new government fears this and is now pitifully attempting to give small sops like announcing a few thousand jobs and speaking of minor investments,” Mr. Pawar said, adding that the Shinde government was “cheating people” as it had failed in its attempts to bring big projects with the concurrence of the Central government.

Mr. Pawar said that the projects claimed by Mr. Shinde as ‘new’ investments secured by the current government had begun during the MVA’s tenure.