Continuing his criticism of Chief Minister M.K. Stalin over his recent official visit to Singapore and Japan, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Friday urged the DMK government to take steps to prevent industries from shifting their operations from Tamil Nadu to other States.
He also demanded steps to ensure that the investments envisaged under the earlier memoranda of understanding were made in the State. In a statement, he pointed out that the Chief Minister had claimed the MoUs for ₹3,233 crore in investments were signed during his tour of Singapore and Japan. But the MoU with Mitsubishi for ₹1,891 crore in investment was signed in Chennai. “So, the investments for which MoUs were signed during the tour amounted only to ₹1,342 crore.” He said Komatsu was brought to the State when the AIADMK was in power and Omron was operating in Uttar Pradesh. “These investments could have been received easily by inviting the Indian CEOs of these companies. The Chief Minister instead went to Singapore and Japan, and that is what we call a loss.”
A conglomerate comprising Foxconn, which was to have invested ₹1.54 lakh crore and provided jobs to over 25,000 people in Tamil Nadu, left for Gujarat “because the DMK government refused to provide land and subsidies”, the former Chief Minister said.
Foxconn, which was to have invested ₹4,000 crore in an Apple iPhone factory, switched to Karnataka “because of the indifference of the DMK government”. Since the Chief Minister didn’t meet the Foxconn CEO when he visited the State, “the investment and jobs for about 1 lakh people went to Karnataka and Telangana,” Mr. Palaniswami said.
Many companies operating in Tamil Nadu were investing in other States. “This leads to a strong suspicion that this was not a tour to attract investments, but a recreational tour to invest there,” Mr. Palaniswami said.
