LUCKNOW/MUMBAI: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday sold his film city dream project in the heart of Bollywood, touching off a raw nerve of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders.
The CM was on a business trip to Mumbai and kept his approach as such. “This is an open competition. Anyone who can give social security and a conducive atmosphere will get business,” Adityanath said.
Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said he would not let anybody “forcibly” take away businesses from the state.
Yogi responded: “We are not stealing any state’s investment.” Yogi began his day by listing the `200-crore bond of Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) at the Bombay Stock Exchange. “Bollywood will work in Mumbai, but a new film city will come up in UP. We will build a world class film city with all the infrastructure facilities,” said Yogi.
Stability of a state government is among many factors that drive investments, Yogi said. “UP is the most populous state with 24 crore people in the country, becoming the biggest job creator,” the CM said.
Yogi arrived in Mumbai on Tuesday evening and met actor Akshay Kumar at a hotel in south Mumbai over dinner, setting Bollywood’s political pulse racing.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena was out with a poster saying there is “deliberate attempt to reduce the importance of Mumbai”. “Bollywood lies in Mumbai. Marathi manoos Dadasaheb Phalke had founded this vibrant film city, so no one can snatch it away by a mere visit” read an MNS poster.
Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut saw a BJP conspiracy to reduce the importance of Mumbai by shifting or destroying all important institutions. “In South India, there is another film city; similar ones are there in West Bengal and Punjab. Will the UP CM also visit these places,” asked Raut.
“Prime Minister Modi had earlier tried to shift the financial centre to Gujarat and now Bollywood is being targeted. We won’t allow this to happen. Maharashtra has a big tradition for fighting against tyrannies since Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj times,” said the Sena leader.
NCP minister Nawab Malik too pitched in. “Yogi Adityanath should first make his state crime-free and let people live without fear. That state has the highest crime rate and justice eludes people. In Hathras case, the world saw how the poor people’s rights were trampled,” Malik said.
Reaches out to industrialists, promises security
Assuring “security, respect and conducive environment”, Adityanath on Wednesday invited businesses to invest in the state of “unlimited possibilities”. The UP chief minister met a slew of industrialists during his two-day visit to Mumbai.
“We will give you safety, security, respect and conducive atmosphere for setting up your businesses,” an official release issued here said quoting Adityanath. The CM emphasised that Uttar Pradesh is soon going to compete with the best of the world in the field of basic infrastructure. Uttar Pradesh’s vast population is a huge resource as well as a big market for businesses, he added.