Chennai: Former industries minister T R B Rajaa said on Thursday nearly 70 of the 97 MoUs announced at the state govt’s investment conclave were investments or leads initiated by the previous DMK govt.“Almost 70 MoUs, accounting for around 75% of the investment value and 83% of jobs, appear to be existing companies expanding or investment leads put into the pipeline by the Dravidian model govt. If all investments that could be considered new were included, they would account for 24 MoUs, around 23% of the investment value and 15% of jobs,’’ Rajaa said in a social media post. He said the ₹1,000 crore attributed to Titan was part of the state’s existing relationship with the company through Tidco.“An expansion is welcome. A converted investment lead is welcome. Every job is welcome. But investments already cultivated, negotiated or announced during the previous govt cannot suddenly become a new achievement merely because they were presented at a new conclave,’’ he said. Rajaa added that the real metric was conversion of MoUs into investment, production, jobs and MSME opportunities. He sought transparency over the latest announcements, questioning the denial of permission for the media to cover the conclave.
