Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe said the biggest hurdle in attracting investment in Uttar Pradesh is the “atmosphere” created by Adityanath in the state, where the BJP retained power in the 2022 Assembly polls.

Investment in Uttar Pradesh will be possible only if he works on improving the law and order situation in the country’s most populous state, he said.

“You foment religious tension and create differences on the basis of castes. Law and order is in a bad shape. So why should any industry come to Uttar Pradesh? The biggest hurdle is the atmosphere you (Adityanath) have created,” Londhe said.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)’s national (rpt national) spokesperson Clyde Crasto (rpt Clyde Crasto) sought to know when will Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis go to Uttar Pradesh or Gujarat and ask people there to “Dream in their state, but make it reality in Maharashtra in form of investment?” Countering the Opposition attack, Deputy Chief Minister Fadnavis, a BJP leader, asserted no one can take away businesses from Maharashtra.

“There is no reason to fear, but we must be proud of (Mumbai). Whoever can say whatever they want, but Mumbai remains the financial capital of the country. If anyone has to do any industrial summit or attract industries, then they have to come to Mumbai. No one can take away anyone’s industries,” he said.

Last year, the Shinde-Fadnavis government faced flak over big-ticket projects like the Vedanta-Foxconn semiconductor plant and the Tata-Airbus aircraft venture preferring Gujarat over Maharashtra.