Mumbai : After the Bharatiya Janata Party accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of ‘diverting’ businesses from Maharashtra to West Bengal, Shiv Sena questioned Maharashtra BJP’s silence over Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel’s Mumbai visit and his meeting with the business leaders and leading industry executives here.
“Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel visited Mumbai along with half his cabinet. He came to invite the industrialists in Mumbai to participate at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit. They need the help of the industrialists of Mumbai to make a ‘self-reliant Gujarat’. Why is BJP silent now?” Shiv Sena asked in an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana.
The BJP had earlier hit out at Mamata for trying to ‘migrate’ business to West Bengal after the latter met the industrialist in Mumbai during her visit to the city.
“BJP believes that industries must be spread across the country. But is the ruling Shiv Sena in Maharashtra asking her to take the industries away from Maharashtra, is a crucial question. Is the ruling Shiv Sena helping Mamata didi to take away employment opportunities, businesses and industries from Maharashtra?” BJP MLA Ashish Shelar had alleged.
The Saamana editorial further alleged the Centre is obstructing the work of the state government in West Bengal by defaming the MPs and MLAs of the state with the help of the Central Agencies.
“Mamata, during her visit to the state informed that the Centre has sent 50 officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to West Bengal so that they could register false cases against the MPs and MLAs in the state. They are trying to defame West Bengal but the state will not back off and will put up a fight like Maharashtra,” the editorial said.