Davos not for meeting local builders: Aaditya Thackeray takes swipe at Fadnavis

Shiv Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray on Monday said the World Economic Forum at Davos brings together public leaders investors and ideators and asserted that the forum is not meant for engaging with builders and contractors from back home who are seeking permissions from local selfgovernmentsIn a post on LinkedIn Thackeray urged chief ministers attending the World Economic Forum in Davos not to get drawn into what he termed a ldquosilly circusrdquo of merely meeting people who are already on their speed dial but instead to engage meaningfully with the worldSays WEF not a platform for photoops or headline MoUsThe WEF in Davos is not a rat race for photographs and investment announcements but is about substantive engagement the former Maharashtra minister claimedldquoAt such a forum we cannot be occupied with engaging with builders and contractors from back home who are seeking permissions from our local selfgovernments Instead their presence should be leveraged to further the statersquos agenda globallyrdquo he said in a veiled dig at Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who was attending the WEFCalls for moving beyond MoUs and investment figuresThackeray said it was necessary to move beyond the outdated idea of memorandums of understanding MoUs and headlinegrabbing investment figures adding that such an approach was fashionable in India a decade agoldquoAn annual meeting that brings together public leaders investors ideators and scientists is a space where geopolitics converges with themes such as artificial intelligence and much more At such a forum we cannot be busy engaging with builders and contractors from back home who are seeking permissions from our local selfgovernmentsrdquo Thackeray saidFadnavis highlights MoUs worth Rs 30 lakh crore at DavosMaharashtra has signed MoUs worth Rs 30 lakh crore at the World Economic Forum WEF in Davos which could generate up to 40 lakh jobs across sectors including industry services agriculture and technology Fadnavis had said from Davos last weekThackeray said the forum should be utilised to connect with the world and advance the statersquos broader agendaSanjay Raut questions Davos trips and expensesldquoI can promise that as a leader of the Opposition party I will not criticise the chief minister for not making any local or Indian MoU announcements from Davos as long as it is evident that the visit is genuinely meaningful in terms of advancing our national and state interests through dialogue at a global levelrdquo the Shiv Sena UBT leader saidThe WEF is a platform to engage learn speak interact understand assess and read between the lines when the worldrsquos most powerful influential and perhaps most outofthebox people and ideas come together he saidldquoWhat makes this junket of our chief ministers unbearable is seeing senior leaders meeting other senior leaders from neighbouring states airport welcome photographs that no other global leaders indulge in without even offering much to the diaspora attempts to craft a panIndia image for a national leadership campaign and then announcements related to permissions for builders and institutions mdash which is the basic administrative responsibility of any government mdash instead of chief ministers speaking to the world in a more engaging mannerrdquo Thackeray said in an apparent jibe at FadnavisThe Maharashtra chief minister was welcomed by the Brihan Maharashtra Mandal in Zurich upon his arrival in Switzerland He also met Union ministers at the WEFShiv Sena UBT leader Sanjay Raut had demanded that the travel expenses of leaders attending Davos be disclosed to the public reported PTIldquoChief ministers from various states in India are having a picnic in Davosrdquo Raut had said reported PTIThe Davos conference is ridiculous from an Indian perspective Raut had said last weekldquoIf you want a break take a holiday If you want to meet local investors and sign MoUs do it at home If you want to meet party colleagues reserve it for party conventionsrdquo he said reported PTIldquoFor Davos use every resource every contact and every person from back home present there to advance our national interest ideate and bring back just one thing mdash what is next and how India and our respective states fit into that picturerdquo Raut said reported PTIWith inputs from PTI