Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann during a meeting with top officials of BMW group in Munich. (Photo: @PunjabGovtIndia)A day after the Punjab government announced that German luxury car giant BMW would be setting up an automobile part manufacturing unit in the state, the company on Wednesday denied that it was planning anything in Punjab.
On Tuesday, the government had claimed that BMW had offered to set up a unit in Punjab after Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann held a meeting with BMW top brass in Germany. Mann is currently in Germany to attract industrial investments.
However, on Wednesday, BMW issued a press release stating, “BMW Group India has no plans of setting up additional manufacturing operations in Punjab.” It said, “BMW Group is committed to its Indian operations with its manufacturing plant in Chennai, a parts warehouse in Pune, a training centre in Gurgaon and a well-developed dealer network across major metropolitans of the country. It, however, has no plans to make additional investment for a new plant in Punjab.”
While the government has not officially reacted to the denial yet, a senior government functionary said, “I am not aware of any meetings that the CM is holding in Germany. I, in fact, got to know from the newspapers about the BMW decision. I was not even aware of the denial.”
Meanwhile, AAP spokesperson Malwinder Singh Kang said that officials at the BMW head office in Germany had accepted the offer made by CM Mann. “There is a difference between head office and regional office and every MOU takes time. But I must tell you that BMW officials will be participating in Punjab Investment Summit in February next year,” Kang said.
While the denial comes as a major embarrassment to the ruling AAP, opposition parties didn’t leave an opportunity to attack the CM for making fake claims.
BJP leader Tarun Chugh said that the Bhagwant Mann government is habitual of making fake claims. SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema also asked the CM to bring all facts on record.