Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress have forced the TATAs to wind off their composite automobile units at Singur and set the Nano factory at Sanada in Gujarat depriving tens of thousands of people in West Bengal the opportunity to earn a better living.

But that was not the end of the story. Banerjee’s party has once again forced the management of Paharpur Cooling Towers to shift their modern unit to Gujarat from Bengal by forcing a closure in the existing unit near Kolkata.

The Trinamool Congress has also forced suspension of one day’s production at the PTA plant of Mitshubishi at Haldia. The plant, expanded, recently is the single largest investment by the Japanese in India.

Banerjee’s party has even been objecting to acquisition of land for power transmission and power plants. On the other hand, Banerjee’s partner in her movement against the ruling Left Front, the Maoists have started setting factories afire in the Jungle Mahal in West Midnapore district.

“It seems that the Trinamool Congress and the Maoists are bent upon creating anarchy in the state to stall industrial and economic growth jeopardising the future of the people of the state,” says a spokesperson of the Left Front.

“The Trina-Maos, the combination of Trinamool Congress and the Maoists, are creating havoc in the state and the United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre is enjoying the anarchy like Dhritarashtra, instead of restraining its partner Trinamool Congress,” the spokesperson claimed.

To wipe out her anti-industry image, he said, Banerjee had earlier announced that her ministry would set up a international standard coach factory at the Tata land in Singur.

“But realising that it is impossible to return 400 acres of land to the unwilling farmers as per the country’s law, she has now started demanding that the Tatas should return the land to the state before the railways can make any move,” he said.

The railways have not submitted even a preliminary plan to the state government for setting up of the coach factory highlighting the propose investment and refused to even make a joint inspection for the proposed coach factory.

Prior to the railways’ move, BHEL went for joint inspection of the same land for mega power project but later withdraw the proposal citing certain logistic problems.

“If the BHEL, under Heavy Industries Ministry, can make joint inspection, why not the railways,” he asked and alleged that Banerjee had been trying to keep the issue of returning land to the unwilling farmers alive till the next assembly elections in the state for ‘narrow political gains’.
He, however, said the state government had been making sincere efforts to attract investment and despite Nano depression was able to convince several leading industrialists of the country to set up a number of steel, power and fertiliser units in different parts of the state.

“We are confident of making a turnaround once these projects reach the implementation stage. According to a recent statistics, the West Bengal is among the first four states of the country in attracting investments,” he added.