State: Jaitley Outwitted Bengal Finance Minister

 Recently, Shri Arun Jaitley, Union Finance Minister, came to Kolkata to address a meeting of the intellectuals on August 24. He was very sharp and upbeat in asking a straight forward question why the Bengal chief minister went to Singapore if her party opposed foreign funds. Then had sharpened his attack on the Trinamool Congress (TMC) by saying, the economic planning that the Left followed is now being followed by Trinamool. How can a state run like that? If you keep taking loan for today’s spending, how will that loan be repaid?”

The Finance Minister of the state, otherwise an intellectual and well known economist of the country Dr Amit Mitra had no answer to the questions put forward by Jaitley. While avoiding the real issue Dr Mitra had tried to play with the gallery saying, “It is extremely sad that something like this came from Arun Jaitley. Either, he is not aware or he made the comment purposefully, even after knowing all that has been happening in Bengal. He came here to participate in a finance related discussion instead politicised the event. West Bengal did not expect this from him.”
On August 6, 2014, Ratan Tata, former Chairman of Tata Group of Industries came to the state and openly commented that he had come to the state after two years, but he did not see any industrial growth any importance. After the refusal, the land at Singur which was allotted for Tata was not returned to the owners of the land although Mamata government had promised to return it.
As the Tata took initiative to produce the Nano car in Bangladesh with the local auto tycoon Abdul Matlub Ahmed, of the Nitol-Niloy group, Tripura has managed to bag its tyre manufacturing plant as it is India’s second biggest rubber producing state now.
West Bengal under a chief minister who came to power by leading the movement against the Tata can only rue missed opportunities. The message is straight and simple, be tough when it is needed but avoid the politics of needless confrontation.
—Asim Kr Mitra from Kolkata