Jaswant clips Shinde’s foreign trip

Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde’s much-publicised 10-day foreign tour has come under a cloud. And the one to rain on his ...

Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde’s much-publicised 10-day foreign tour has come under a cloud. And the one to rain on his parade is none other than Union Finance Minister Jaswant Singh.

Shinde’s itinerary included a dialogue with World Bank officials, apart from participation in the annual convention of the New York-based Brihan Maharashtra Mandal as well as interaction with leading entrepreneurs, particularly Indians settled in the US and UK.

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However, Singh has advised Shinde against directly interacting with World Bank officials. In view of this, Shinde has abandoned the plan. ‘‘I have known Singh for a long time. He has recommended that CMs should not directly interact with World Bank officials as it will set a bad precedent. If a CM is granted permission for negotiation with the World Bank, then CMs of several states will knock on the World Bank’s door,’’ Shinde said.

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The rest of the trip will be as scheduled and Shinde and his team will leave on June 24. Apart from several business meetings and conferences and a session at Stanford University, Shinde will participate in the three-day convention of the Brihan Maharashtra Mandal. The Mandal has also organised a business meeting for Shinde with entrepreneurs of Indian origin.

‘‘My main emphasis will be to impress upon the entrepreneurs to invest in Maharashtra. We will explain to them on the IT-enabled services, recent trends in biotechnology, new special economic zones and above all the atmosphere conducive for investment in Maharashtra,’’ Shinde said.