As the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos got underway on Monday, several Indian states announced that they had signed memoranda of understanding – with Indian companies. This led to a barrage of criticism from social media users.
They asked why Indian chief ministers had spent tax payers’ money to travel to Switzerland to hold meetings and sign agreements with Indian entities.
Nearly 3,000 delegates representing global businesses and governments from around the world are attending the event.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced on Tuesday that Indian entities Lodha Developers, Surajgad Ispat and K Raheja Corp were among the companies with which the state had signed MoUs.
The managing director of the Lodha Group, Abhishek Lodha, is the son of Mangal Prabhat Lodha, a minister in the Maharashtra government.
Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad from Mumbai was not impressed. She said that deal could have been sealed at the state guesthouse in Mumbai.
“Like every year, this year too a whole entourage has accompanied the CM to Davos only to sign MoUs with majority Indian companies,” Gaikwad said on X. “Last year too, MoUs with Hiranandani and Raheja group were signed in Davos, both operate out of Mumbai. Why is taxpayer money being wasted this way?”
Karnataka Commerce Minister MB Patil announced that he held a meetings Tata Group Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran and officials from Tata Electronics. Patil also said that he met with the chairperson of UPL, an agrochemicals and industrial chemicals firm headquartered in Mumbai, and discussed expanding the company’s “agricultural footprint” in Karnataka.
The Madhya Pradesh government held a meeting with officials from Indian media company JioStar, ANI reported.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Telangana’s Revanth Reddy are also in the Swiss city to seek investments in their states.
Naidu announced that he had met with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma in Zurich.
Many social media users said that meetings with Indian companies could have been held in India.
Journalist Swati Chaturvedi asked whether Mumbai’s acute traffic congestion had forced Fadnavis to travel to Davos to sign an MoU with a Mumbai-based builder.
Other social media users were similar scathing.
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