Calling for a “spirit of co-operation and understanding,” Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said here on Wednesday that there will have to be a convergence of views of different political parties when the issue of implementation of programs is concerned.
“Nobody can prevent the process of industrialisation,” Mr. Mukherjee said. “In the process of development and carrying on the work of the people, we must have a spirit of cooperation and understanding.”
Speaking at the inauguration of a business park here, Mr. Mukherjee said that in a multi-party system there were bound to be divergence of political views, but there needs to be convergence of views when the issue of implementation of programs is concerned.
Mr. Mukherjee’s remarks came after Gautam Deb, the State’s Minister for Housing and chairman of West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (Hidco), said that leaders of the Trinamool Congress have stopped cooperating with the administration and refused to attend all-party meetings to resolve issues related to electrification of the area.
“Earlier this was not a problem and the Trinamool Congress came for meetings,” Mr. Deb said adding that the course of development was being held up because of “protests from a few farmers.”
Somnath Chatterjee, the former Speaker of the Lok Sabha, who was also present at the event, spoke about avoiding the “politics of confrontation.”
Hails Manmohan
On the occasion of the launch of Ecospace, a project envisaged to mitigate 25,000 tonnes of carbon emissions, Mr. Mukherjee also commended the commitment made by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that India’s per capita emissions will not exceed those of developed nations.
At a time when the world is conscious and acting on global warming, India shall have to shoulder her share of the responsibility, he said.
Sachin Pilot, the Union Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology (IT) and Debesh Das, the State’s Minster for IT were present.
