Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Industries Minister Subhash Desai on Monday announced the cancellation of notification for Ratnagiri oil refinery. This notification converted land required for the refinery into ‘industrial use’ land, paving the way for acquisition process to start for the project. He was speaking at a public rally at the project site on Monday in the presence of Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray.
The BJP-led central government had recently singed an MoU with a Saudi Arabian company for the project which is expected to be worth around ₹3 lakh crore. Shiv Sena has been opposing the project and the BJP chose to neglect its ally’s demands.
The announcement from the Sena comes days after the party received news of major discontent within the locals for failing to stop the project. There were even threats to boycott Uddhav Thackeray’s rally on Monday.
NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik called it a publicity stunt saying that the cancellation needs to approved by the Cabinet and not at a public rally stage.
