‘CM Stalin unwilling to publish white paper on foreign trips because…’ :Palaniswami

CHENNAI: Stating that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin’s US trip had fetched a modest foreign investment when compared to his counterparts from southern India, Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) demanded the CM publish a white paper.

The document should state details of foreign direct investments (FDI) attracted during the CM’s foreign trips across the last 40 months, the AIADMK chief demanded. “However, he is not forthcoming to publish the white paper as it would expose his efforts to nothing but zero,” EPS alleged.

Since the DMK came to power in 2021, the CM took out four foreign trips to attract FDIs. The media reports stated that the CM brought meagre FDIs when compared to the CMs and ministers of other states in the country, said Palaniswami in a statement on Monday.

Telangana CM Revanth Reddy’s US trip in August this year fetched Rs 31,500 crore FDIs, and Karnataka Industries Minister’s US trip last year attracted FDI to the tune of Rs 25,000 crore to the respective states, Palaniswami justified.

17 days of Stalin’s sojourn in the USA brought only Rs 7,618 crore, he said, adding, “In total, the CM had attracted FDIs to the tune of Rs 18,000 crore. It is the cumulative outcome of his trip to Dubai in March 2022, Japan and Singapore in August 2023, Spain in January 2024, and the recent one to the USA.

“The CM said that not even 10% of the MoUs signed with the investors during the AIADMK regime materialised. The fact is that 72% of the MoUs signed in Global Investors Meet-I (GIM-I) and 27% of the MoUs signed in GIM-II have materialised. Besides this, 41 projects that were the outcome of MoUs signed during my foreign trips have been eventuated,” he said to counter CM Stalin’s remark on his arrival from the USA trip that the AIADMK regime's performance was abysmal in materialising the MoUs with foreign investors.

Apart from this, projects worth Rs 24,458 crore transpired within seven months of inking pacts with the investors. It took place in 2020, amidst the first wave of Covid, he recalled, to rebuke the CM’s statement.

“These data are available in the government record and the bureaucrats, who headed the industries ministry in our regime, are still holding important positions in the present regime. If the CM would have avoided making such remarks, he would have checked with the officials concerned,” Palaniswami said.