Kolkata: The new BJP government will bring the Tatas back to Singur, and talks have already begun for their return, state party president Samik Bhattacharya announced on Friday. Speaking at a session titled 'Reigniting Bengal's Industrial Fortune' organized by the Merchants' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), Bhattacharya stated that the exit of Tata Motors from Singur sent a wrong message that Bengal is not industry-friendly. However, he assured that the Tatas will return, if not in the automobile sector, then in another sector, marking both a responsibility and a challenge for the BJP.
Positive Message for Industrial Sector
Bhattacharya emphasized that the return of the Tatas would send a positive message across the state's industrial sector. He assured that the overall business environment of Bengal will transform over the next 1,000 days. The character of land in Singur has changed, and the party is in talks to bring the Tatas back, possibly to a different location in Bengal if not Singur itself.
Background of the Singur Dispute
Three years ago, Tata Motors informed stock exchanges that an arbitral tribunal had directed the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) to pay the company Rs 766 crore in compensation for losses incurred at its manufacturing site in Singur. The company had been forced to shift its Nano small car plant from Singur to Sanand in Gujarat in October 2008 following an anti-land acquisition movement led by Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee. By then, Tata Motors had already invested over Rs 1,000 crore in Singur. The previous Trinamool government had stated it would file an appeal against the tribunal's order.
No Political Interference Assured
Bhattacharya assured industrialists that unlike in the past, there will be no political interference in their business operations in Bengal. He stated that the BJP does not have a trade union, and if anyone plants a party flag at a factory or demands wage hikes and employment in the party's name, the party will take immediate action upon being informed. He alleged that during the over 50 years when the Left Front and Trinamool Congress were in power, there was no significant industrial development in the state.
Vision for Socio-Economic Upliftment
Bhattacharya outlined the BJP's vision to uplift the socio-economic infrastructure of Bengal, balancing capital-intensive and labour-intensive industries. He emphasized that the BJP bears no enmity toward any community, and today's religion is democracy, with its politics being development. Additionally, the new government will provide incentives to an imitation jewellery hub that has come up in Singur and revive the Falta Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
(With inputs from Satavisha Dutta in Kolkata)
