Sharad Pawar slams Centre's move to shift IFSC to Gujarat, terms it 'egregious, unwarranted'

PTI photo

Mumbai: A political war of words has erupted in Maharashtra over the Centre's move to station the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) Authority in Gujarat. After Congress and Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar has raised his objection on the decision and requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to revisit his decision.

"The Centre’s decision to locate the newly created International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) Authority at Gujarat's Gandhinagar will not only cause financial damage to the country, but also bring international discredit by undermining the importance of Mumbai," Pawar said in a letter to PM Modi on Saturday, released on Sunday (May 3).

Pawar said the Centre's move to set up the headquarters of IFSC at Gandhinagar would be taken as an act of undermining the strategic importance of Mumbai that boasts as the nation's financial capital and even the financial institutions worldwide will be taken aback by this shocking decision.

He pointed out that in the general psyche of the business community, bankers and other financial institutions, Mumbai is their natural choice for setting up such a unified authority, and fervently urged the Prime Minister to reconsider the decision.

.@NCPspeaks chief @PawarSpeaks writes @narendramodi requesting to revisit his decision of locating #IFSC authority. Pawar demanded #IFSCinMumbai rather than Gandhinagar. Mumbai & Maharahtra give major revenue to central so Mumbai is natural choice for #IFSC @NewIndianXpress pic.twitter.com/7bx36Kk8z4 — Sudhir Suryawanshi (@ss_suryawanshi) May 3, 2020

On April 27, the Centre issued a notification declaring Gandhinagar in Gujarat as the headquarters of the IFSC Authority, at the Gujarat International Financial-Tech (GIFT) City. 

While Maharashtra's ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress was left rattled by the move, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis defended the Centre's move.

Shiv Sena leader and Industry Minister Subhash Desai said it is natural for the IFSC to be in Mumbai, which is acknowledged as the country's financial capital. "Just giving a name does not make a financial capital. The world knows Mumbai and its financial might," Desai said.

State Congress President and Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat termed the decision as intended to lower Mumbai's stature, and wanted to know why the state BJP was silent on the issue. "The Centre must rescind the decision. After all, Mumbai is the financial hub of the country," Thorat said.