Maharashtra CM's wife Amruta hits back at Sanjay Raut, says CM Devendra Fadnavis not in Davos for a ‘picnic’

Amruta Fadnavis, wife of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. File Pic

Maharashtra Chief Minister (CM) Devendra Fadnavis is not in Davos on a "picnic", his wife Amruta Fadnavis said on Wednesday, rebutting remarks made by Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut. Fadnavis is attending the World Economic Forum's annual meeting.

"I can never understand his (Raut's) language. But I will say this much, someone who goes for a picnic does not hold conferences and meetings daily from 6 am to 11 pm to bring investment to India and Maharashtra, and to boost employment," Amruta told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Mumbai.

"So I feel that this statement of his, like all his other statements, is baseless," she said.

Describing the WEF as an international forum, Amruta said leaders from across the world attend the event to discuss their countries and explore business opportunities.

"Going there, I believe, is the duty of the head of every state in India," she added.

Raut had earlier demanded that the travel costs of leaders visiting Davos be made public.

"Chief ministers from various states in India are having a picnic in Davos," he had said, adding that the Davos conference was "ridiculous from an Indian perspective".

When asked who would be the next mayor of Mumbai, Amruta said the post would be held by a Marathi person.

Devendra Fadnavis has been credited with the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance's strong performance in the recent municipal corporation elections. The BJP emerged as the single largest party, winning 89 seats in the 227-member Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

India set to become third-largest economy in coming years, says Ashwini Vaishnaw

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday, in his address at the World Economic Forum, stressed that India is poised to become the world's third-largest economy in the next few years, driven by a decade of "well thought-through" structural changes and focused execution, news agency ANI reported.

Vaishnaw highlighted a trajectory where the nation is expected to maintain a real growth rate of 6 to 8 per cent.

He attributed this momentum to four strategic pillars: massive public investment in physical, digital, and social infrastructure; inclusive growth ensuring the "entire society grows along with the growth of the country"; a push for manufacturing and innovation; and a rigorous drive toward simplification, ANI reported.

The Union Railway Minister further highlighted, "All this, combined with the base of technology that we have put in, we can very clearly say that India is going to grow with a 95 per cent confidence interval in the next five years," while adding that security of the poorest comes as a priority.

Supporting Vaishnaw's view, economist Gita Gopinath pointed out that based on current math relative to other major economies, "India gets there by 2028," and potentially sooner depending on upcoming GDP rebasing, ANI reported.

The economist further emphasised that the true challenge is not just the aggregate size of the economy but also raising per capita incomes to higher levels to meet the 2047 goal of a developed India. While she lauded the "impressive" infrastructure build-out and GST reforms, Gopinath also cautioned that sustaining this momentum requires addressing deep-seated bottlenecks in land, labour, and the judicial system.

(With PTI and ANI inputs)