The Hindu : Bengal has a lot of catching up to do: PM

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 17, 2003

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Bengal has a lot of catching up to do: PM

By Malabika Bhattacharya

Photo: Sushanta Patronobish

The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, and the West Bengal Chief Minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, at the 150th anniversary celebrations of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industries in Kolkata on Wednesday.

KOLKATA JULY 16. The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, today took on both the Communists and the Congress, albeit indirectly, holding the "dogmatism" of the former responsible for West Bengal's industrial stagnation and accusing the latter of "discriminating against States on political and ideological grounds".

He was addressing the 150th anniversary celebrations of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry here. "Outsiders can only surmise that the arrival of dogmatism saw the departure of development," he said. "Sometimes in the affairs of organisations, provinces and even nations, extreme positions rule the roost for some time, but the price of the folly is paid for years and decades to come."

He stressed the need for introspection by all sections of society. "Of course, when men make mistakes, life also provides opportunities for correction. And when correction is applied with conviction and a collective force, swift progress is often achieved. One can even make up for the lost time and forge ahead."

However, this was no sermon and he simply wished to stress that "life was forcing everyone to find new answers to old questions". Today no country, no state and no city could afford the luxury of wanting to remain sluggish and stagnant. The expectations of the people were rising fast and the younger generation, especially, was looking for employment and opportunities for self-employment. This problem was acute in Bengal but it could be overcome by faster economic growth. "India has a lot of catching up to do. And within India, Bengal has a lot of catching up to do."

In an apparent reference to the Congress, Mr. Vajpayee said the Left Front Government, headed by Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, had no reason now to repeat the decades-old complaint that the Centre was discriminating against the State. "Our track record of the last five years shows that we do not follow the policy of discrimination on political and ideological grounds. All States, irrespective of who is ruling where, are equal in our eyes." The accent should be on harmonious and cooperative relations between the Centre and the States so that a strong and prosperous India could emerge.

Mr. Vajpayee urged the Left Front Government to gear itself with a new work culture and a new, pro-growth mindset to be able to create a strong pro-business and pro-investment environment.

He said he was happy to note that in recent years, winds of change were blowing, although quite "mildly" so far. He complimented the Government for constructively responding to the new challenges as well as entering into partnerships with the private sector. "This is leading to a slow revival of business sentiments. There is some improvement in certain aspects of infrastructure. This change needs expansion and acceleration."

The Prime Minister said the Centre was warm to ideas and suggestions aimed at a renaissance of Bengal. The prosperity was necessary not only for its own sake but also for catalysing the revival of the rest of eastern India and the entire northeast. The Centre had taken special effort for promoting industries and businesses in the northeast. He urged the chambers to play a more active role for these efforts to succeed.

Mr. Vajpayee said Bengal could achieve a speedy economic revival as it had a large network of reputed professional institutions as well as scientists, managers and professionals. In recent years, healthy saplings of new economy enterprises in information technology, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals had been planted. Besides, a small beginning had been made with the success of Haldia Petrochemicals. The State also had huge potential for food processing industries.

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