Mumbai, Oct 28 (IANS): Attempting to turn the tables on the Opposition in Maharashtra, a ruling alliance minister alleged that it was the erstwhile government of ex-Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray which was 'solely responsible' for the flight of big businesses out of Maharashtra, here on Saturday.

Under attack from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) for the past over one year after major projects like Vedanta-Foxconn, Tata-Airbus and the bulk drugs park among others shifted out of the state, Industry Minister Uday Samant made the revelations on Saturday.

In a statement, he said that a former police officer, Sachin Vaze, who was dismissed from service, was reinstated in 2020 after being suspended for his alleged involvement in a custodial death case.

"Those aware have confirmed that Aditya Thackeray recommended to CM Uddhav Thackeray to reinstate Vaze," Samant contended.

Samant's sharp rejoinder came in response to Aditya Thackeray's comments on Friday when he took a jibe at the government – "Vedanta-Foxconn, Tata-Airbus, Bulk Drugs Park, 40 Traitors, Cricket World Cup Final, and now the Diamond Bourse… everything for Gujarat! A well-performing MVA government was toppled, now what is the Shinde-BJP regime doing after treachery?"

Continuing, Samant said that later, in Feb. 2021, Vaze had planted a car laden with gelatin sticks/explosives near Antilla, the iconic home of Reliance Industries Ltd Chairman Mukesh Ambani.

"MP Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena-UBT) and architect of the MVA government in March 2021 protected Vaze and called him an 'honest and capable' officer," Samant pointed out.

The Minister said that "this incident sent shockwaves in the business world" and it was one of the reasons for loss of confidence in the state.

"The overwhelming support to Vaze by the Thackeray government had demoralised business and investors… It also tarnished the image of Mumbai as a safe destination for business," claimed Samant.

He added that the Vaze incident and the political protection given to him 'will have long-lasting impact' on Maharashtra as a safe destination for business and investments.

"The Thackeray government had played a major role in driving out businesses from Maharashtra. Instead of politicising big projects, they must apologize to the people of the state for making investors lose faith and confidence in the state government," demanded Samant.

He assured that now, the state is regaining investors' confidence through various decisions and policies taken in the past one year under CM Eknath Shinde.