MVA partners condemn Centre's decision to shift IFSC from Mumbai to Gandhinagar

At a time when the nation is reeling under COVID-19 and the lockdown, the Centre's decision to shift the proposed International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) from Mumbai to Gujarat has rattled the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.

The Narendra Modi government had issued a notification on 27 April that declared Gandhinagar as the headquarters of the IFSC Authority.

With that, Modi's dream project, Gujarat International Financial-Tech City (GIFT). could now be a reality.

MVA partners and the Uddhav Thackeray-led government came down heavily on the Modi-led BJP government at the Centre and the state BJP's silence over the issue.

"It's disappointing and a move against Mumbai's established status as the nation's financial capital," NCP President Sharad Pawar said.

Maharashtra's Industries Minister Subhash Desai, a close aide of Thackeray, said that it is natural to have IFSC in Mumbai. "Just giving a name does not make a financial capital. The world knows Mumbai and its financial might," he said.

The senior Shiv Sena leader said Mumbai had the BSE, NSE, RBI, SEBI, headquarters of banks and financial companies, offices of top international companies and Mumbai was an International Financial Centre.

Maharashtra's Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat said the Central government's decision to locate the IFSC to Gujarat is disappointing and is being done to reduce Mumbai's stature.

"The Centre should reconsider its decision, after all Mumbai is the financial hub of the country," the senior Congress leader said, wanting to know why the state BJP leadership was silent on the issue.

State's School Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad tweeted: ""Rest In Peace" IFSC (International financial services centre) dream of Mumbai....Mumbai is again robbed of its opportunity to become an IFSC destination due to special biased love of our Prime minister for Gujarat. PM is for the country or just for one state? "

An IFSC in Mumbai was the idea of former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.

Leader of the Opposition Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP, an ex-CM, said the MVA government is trying to create a myth over the issue. "In 2007, the Percy Mistry committee submitted a report on this issue Till 2014, the then governments at Centre (Congress-led UPA) and state (Democratic Front) did nothing. The then Gujarat CM (Narendra Modi) started working on it. In 2014, Gujarat also submitted the proposal and so as we (BJP-Sena government)... we also submitted a revised proposal," he said.

According to him, in December 2019 the Government of India enacted a law to create an authority to regulate financial services center and its headquarters is now notified in Ahmedabad. "Mumbai has a natural IFSC ecosystem and it can still become IFSC if the Maharashtra government desires," he said.