Cong slams Fadnavis over FDI data, says Maha has always been on top

The Congress on Saturday said that Maharashtra has continuously topped the list of foreign direct investment (FDI) receivers and attacked Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis over his comment that the state's ranking went down during MVA rule.

Citing data from Union ministry of industries, state Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said Maharashtra got about 33 per cent of all FDI in the country between 2000 and 2012.

In terms of overall FDI from October 2019 to June 2022, Maharashtra ranked first even during the tenure of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, Sawant said.

The MVA government under Uddhav Thackeray fell in June 2022 after Eknath Shinde led a rebellion in Shiv Sena and joined hands with the BJP to become the chief minister. Congress is an MVA partner.

Maharashtra, which lagged in attracting FDI during MVA rule, has again risen to the top position in the past two consecutive years, Fadnavis had said on Friday.

You (Fadnavis) presented data from April 2021 to March 2022, and Karnataka is ranked first. Saying that Gujarat ranked first in FDI from April 2020 to March 2021 would have made more sense, Sawant said.

Sawant claimed that the BJP-led Centre despises Maharashtra due to which Gujarat and Karnataka had overtaken it.

The computer hardware and software industry received the largest FDI in these two fiscals, from Singapore, the US, and Mauritius. Gujarat received 78 per cent of all foreign direct investments made in the country in 2020-21, while Karnataka got 53 per cent of all FDI in 2021-22, he said.

Why did Karnataka receive very little investment in this sector in the first year while Gujarat got significant investment and, in the second year, Gujarat received very little while Karnataka bagged the maximum, he asked.

It is evident that the Narendra Modi government's intentions have caused FDI in the computer hardware and software industry to be redirected from Maharashtra to these two states, he claimed.

Sawant said the country has not seen a significant increase in investment in the computer hardware and software sector after those two financial years.

These two states (Gujarat and Karnataka) are now back to their initial positions, he said, adding that Maharashtra will remain the best investment destination in the country as long as it is not hindered.