Buddha confident of Bengal's industrialisation

One battle lost, not the war: Buddha on Nano

Kolkata, Oct 5 (IANS): Dubbing his state’s opposition parties as “irresponsible” for their actions that prompted Tata Motors to pull out from Singur, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Sunday exuded confidence that the state might have lost one battle, but not the war.

“Unfortunately, the state has a very irresponsible opposition. But I believe one battle is lost, but the war is not lost. We must fight,” Bhattacharjee said in his first public comment after Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata Friday announced the withdrawal of the Nano project that has thrown into uncertainty the state’s future on the industrial front.

Bhattacharjee, however, said the majority of the people were “right thinking” and were not happy over the small car project moving out of the state.

“Majority of the people in the state are right thinking. And they know what should be our future. They are not happy because just before the (Durga Puja) festival, Tata Motors has withdrawn their Nano project,” Bhattacharjee said.

“And we want to go about with our heads held high once again.”

But he conceded that the automobile major’s decision had sent a “serious message” about the state across the country.

“A serious message has gone all over India - what is happening in West Bengal?” he asked at the foundation stone laying ceremony of a technology-centric special economic zone (SEZ) here.

Referring to the Trinamool Congress-led opposition, whose sustained and often-violent agitation forced Tata Motors to wind up its plant in Singur, the chief minister said it had failed to understand the importance of industrialisation.

“Why is the opposition failing to understand the importance of industrialisation?” he asked.

Bhattacharjee reiterated that though West Bengal ranked best in the country in agriculture, the state’s economy needed industry for further growth.

“Our agricultural scenario is the best in the country. Agricultural growth rate is the highest in India. After our success in agriculture, we our trying to bring in industrialisation in the state”.

He said economy could not depend on agriculture only, and that the youth of the state wanted industry and business.

Bhattacharjee came out in support of globalisation, but said developing countries needed a level playing field.

“In this competitive world, globalisation is a must. You cannot stop it. The only point we are trying to make is that developing countries should get a level playing ground.”

“Without that globalisation is not possible, as it will be one-sided and the developed countries will benefit at the cost of developing countries,” he said.

The chief minister said the central government was doing its best to improve the country’s growth rate.

The chief minister Sunday laid the foundation stone of the Orion Techcity, a 155-acre commercial and integrated SEZ, to come up at Rajarhat, northeast of the city. It is expected to attract around $1.2 billion in investments, staggered over a 10-year period.

The first phase is slated to be completed by 2011.

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, also present at the function, said India has set an export target of Rs.1,250 billion from SEZs this year. Earnings from SEZs stood at Rs.660 billion last year.

He said that altogether 250,000 jobs have been created in various SEZs.

Mukherjee and Japanese ambassador Hideaki Domichi also laid the foundation stone for a 25-acre ‘Japan village’ that will serve as a self-sufficient ‘Zen Paradise’.

Kolkata (PTI): Breaking his silence since the pull-out of the Nano project from Singur, West Bengal Chief Minister on Sunday said no right-thinking person of the state had been happy with the irresponsible behaviour of the Opposition, but maintained that industrialisation process will go ahead.

"No right-thinking people are happy with the withdrawal of the Nano project just ahead of the Durga Puja festival." However, Ratan Tata had said that he was not leaving forever and he would invest in the state in future, Bhattacharjee said.

"We have lost one battle, but the war is not lost. We must fight and overcome the obstacles for going ahead. We want to raise our head again," Bhattacharjee, who had taken a keen interest to bring the Nano project in the state, said after laying the foundation stone for Orion Techcity, a 155-acre integrated IT SEZ at Rajarhat here. The Chief Minister wondered why the Opposition failed to understand the need for industrialisation in the state.

"They give importance to agriculture. We also give importance to agriculture in which the state has been self-sufficient. But only agriculture will not help us for further progress, it needs industrialisation for total development," he said.

Bhattacharjee regretted the loss of job opportunities for the young people who hoped for a bright future.

Tata pullout: History sent on back foot, says Nirupam Sen

New Delhi, October 5, 2008

West Bengal Industries Minister and CPI(M) politburo member Nirupam Sen has said that the events that led to the pullout of Tata Nano project have harmed the prospects of industrialisation in the state and the hurt shall be felt more on the younger generation of the state.

“It has also left bleeding in its wake the prospects of industrial investment in the state. Hurt shall be felt amongst the younger generation amongst whom the Singur project was a beacon of hope,” says Sen in an article to be published in the on-coming issue of People’s Democracy. “Nevertheless, not all this shall ever signify that the industrialists concerned with ongoing and future projects shall all go away from this state. The process of industrialisation in Bengal on a sound and expanding agrarian base is important and emergent. We shall have to traverse along this path,” he adds.

Following are excerpts from the article: The people of the country, of Bengal, and of Singur may legitimately pose the question as to what made the Tata's wind up the small car project at Singur when more than 85% of work has been completed. A run of devastation called an 'agitation,' has had a temporary triumph. It has wounded the both the prospects of industrial investment in the state and the process of industrialisation. Again, we call this a temporary phenomenon. The majority of the people of the state - indeed, an overwhelming majority - had wanted from the core of their heart that the Singur project must become a reality.

Following the meeting that Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and I had with Shri Ratan Tata, the expectation of the people has perhaps touched rock-bottom. Only history will tell in the months and years to come what would the losses entail to no less than eight crore of men and women of the state. History was sent on the backfoot on 3 October 2008 when at the end of the meeting Shri Tata addressed the media that the small car project would now be shifted away from Singur because 'there is no there alternative,' now more than ever, what with the clear 'responsibility devolving on the so-called 'agitation' of the Trinamul Congress.'

The project to which the people of the sate had looked with so much of fond expectation for a period of two-and-a-half years saw the shutters come down at last. The people of the state would not be witness to the turning back of the wheel of history - the people of Bengal know how to face contingencies of whatever kind. The project, it is now clear has been shifted away from Singur simply and only because of destructive, irresponsible acts of violence by the main opposition party in Bengal and some its cohort outfits.

The vast majority of the people Singur, indeed of Bengal do not support in any manner the pattern of behaviour of these political outfits. They wanted the project to see the light of the day. They stood to lose out the most. The extent of loss will be something that will be felt in full measure in the days ahead. However, we have not an iota of doubt in our hearts-and-minds that the negative 'agitationsists' movement shall be met politically. People must come forward. The campaign-movement that would soon unfurl across the state and in the country must be conducted amidst the people, with the people.

Let me say that we do not support the decision that the Tata's have chosen to take. Yet, we are aware that there is a timeframe fixed for the production of the small car. Things were already running behind schedule because of various factors. Tata's have clearly pointed out that they do want production to go on under Police protection. They wanted a peaceful ambience. They looked to safety and security for the guards they had employed. These expectations were quite in the order of things. The state government had made ample arrangements to look after security.

However, the stat government, at the same time, did not want any happenings to take place that would open the portals for violent deeds to take place. The opposition wanted exactly this to happen: let blood be shed. The blood letting they would utilise shamelessly to widen their kind of politics. The state government would not afford them this heinous opportunity. The opposition had promised that their agitation would remain peaceful. They did not keep the pledge. Some may view the behaviour of endurance on them part of the state government as weakness. Our principle was that we did not want to have any unpleasant incident on our hands. Those who created the violence that wrote the finish to the Singur project for the time being should do a bit of self-search to seek how much of good their deeds have done to the people of Bengal.

On the issue of returning the acquired land, we hold that there is no such proviso in the Indian Constitution. The present owner of the land is the state government. There is no legal proviso by which one can return the land to the farmers or to the previous owners. There is really no need now more than ever to enter into any dialogue with the opposition any longer. The court of law shall hold into the cheques of those who had not accepted them for whatever reason.

If somebody asks of us that we should have entered into discussion with the opposition earlier, our counter-query would be what timeframe are we talking about? Can anyone name just single project where the principal opposition party have come forward on to the table for discussion? There politics is that they will never allow any good to happen to Bengal. The picture is the same whether the project is a roads project or a project for generation of electricity.

We are right amidst the festival season and this is the time when we are faced with a sad and tragic event. The youth must be bitterly disappointed. We could not think that the main opposition party would play at such sectarian, such destructive politics. It is their role, let no one be mistaken, that has prevented the Singur project from going becoming viable and vibrant.