Global slowdown is a reality, must fight it, says Thackeray

Chief minister (CM) Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday acknowledged that there is a global slowdown and that leading corporate heads should fight it.

Chief minister (CM) Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday acknowledged that there is a global slowdown and that leading corporate heads should fight it.

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While inaugurating MahaExpo2020 in Aurangabad, the CM also announced that a mega food park and a skill development centre will be set up in Bidkin and Shendra, respectively, in Aurangabad district.

Thackeray, in a barb aimed at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), also said that while “politicians are good at setting houses on fire, lighting gas in a home by providing employment is tough”.

“Yes, there is slowdown on a global level. [Economic] Slowdown is coming in the country. But merely crying over it will not work, we must fight it,” said the CM, who had recently met business leaders in Mumbai.

Speaking at the event organised by Marathwada Association of Small Scale Industries and Agriculture, the CM assured business owners that the government would help them in issues such as taxation, corruption, etc, and sought their help in providing jobs to the sons of the soil.

“For politicians the easiest thing is to set a house on fire through controversies. But lighting gas in a home is the toughest. Therefore, I am announcing two projects. In Bidkin, a 500-acre food processing centre will be built...The bhoomipoojan for this would be done in June. Clearances and other modalities should be worked out so that work can start soon,” the CM said, adding that a 100-acre space in the park should be reserved for women entrepreneurs. “Women should come forward; they, too, have entrepreneurial skills,” he said.

“Many new projects are coming to the state but who would work there is a question. In Shendra, a world-class skill development centre will be started and people will be trained as per the requirements of today and the future,” he said.

In a stark resemblance to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make In India push, Thackeray said that world should now look at “made-in-India” products.