‘Why was Make In India not held in Delhi ’

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Wednesday said that the BJP had a political motive for organising the ‘Make In India’ week in Mumbai. Mr Thackeray asked why the event were not held in the national capital since Make In India is a national programme. He also asked whether the next phases of Make In India would be held in other metros like Chennai and Kolkata.

Speaking to newspersons at his party office in Dadar, the MNS chief sarcastically remarked that the Prime Minister needs an event every two months. “Mr Modi is still in love with Gujarat. He doesn’t look like the country’s PM. The BJP government is busy only with events. No work has taken place,” Mr Thackeray said.

The MNS leader also questioned the choice of mascot for the ‘Make In India’ initiative, which Mr Modi has described as the biggest brand the country has ever created. “I don’t understood the meaning of ‘Make In India’ yet. Mr Modi had organised ‘Vibrant Gujarat’ when he was the CM of that state. How much investment came to Gujarat Signing MoUs doesn’t mean the investment has taken place. If the government wants the investment to happen, they should approach industrialists directly. There is no need to hold events like these,” he said.

Questioned the choice of Mumbai as the venue for the event, he said, “It is a national event. Why didn’t they hold it in Delhi Are they going to hold the next Make In India events in other metros as well There are BJP’s political calculations in bringing the event to Mumbai.”

Commenting on the controversy surrounding the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Mr Thackeray said that the Union government and Rahul Gandhi did not need to intervene into the JNU episode. However, he also hinted that it could be BJP’s ploy to allow ABVP the entry in JNU. “There was no need to create a hype of what happened in JNU. The government did not need to intervene in that. Is it going on to clear the path of Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad. The BJP should not certify who is a nationalist and who is anti-national,” Mr Thackeray said adding that Mr Gandhi’s visit also aggravated the situation.