Deshmukh cancels Singapore trip midway

Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has cancelled his Singapore tour midway and is returning home following violent reaction by the Dalits to desecration of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's statue in Kanpur.

The chief minister left for Singapore on a three-day official tour on Wednesday night from Delhi after camping there for four days to attend the India Economic Forum.

During his stay, the state government also signed an MoU with the German auto major Volkswagen for $500 million investment in the state.

A senior official from the chief minister's office said, "Deshmukh is expected to be back in city by early Friday morning. He is trying to board the first available flight to Mumbai."

Deshmukh had gone to Singapore to participate in the road show organised by the state-owned corporation Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation (MADC) for its Multi-nodal International Cargo Hub and Airport project at Nagpur (MIHAN).

The road show was organised to find out suitable partner for executing the project and attract Rs 3,000 crore investment. Besides, Deshmukh was expected to meet many business leaders from Singapore.