It is becoming increasingly evident that the Left Front government is reconciled to its fate. One could hear a painful and plaintive farewell note in the statement that commerce and industry minister Nirupam Sen made on the floor of the Assembly on Wednesday.
“Today we are in power but tomorrow some one else may be in power. It is natural in parliamentary democracy that one political party will come to power and another will exit,” he said.
Mr Sen said this while making a passionate appeal to the Opposition (read Trinamul Congress) to not create hurdles in the implementation of development projects in the state. Cautioning Mamata Banerjee’s party of the pitfalls of destructive opposition, he said: “Power changes hands but for the sake of Bengal and its people we should avoid that kind of politics which may lead to the ruin of the state.”
He was giving reply to the discussion on the budgets of the commerce and industries, industrial reconstruction and public enterprises departments.
In his desperation to seek the Trinamul Congress’ co-operation for the completion of industrial projects, Mr Sen declared that even if the Left Front lost power, it would keep on exhorting people to invest in the state. “Whatever may be our political differences but please do not stop the process of development which will cause the ruin the state. I urge you to think about the people and refrain from doing anything which will push the young generation to the brink,” Mr Sen added
Later, reacting to the industry minister’s appeal, Leader of Opposition Partha Chatterjee said, “For 34 years, the CPI(M) has shunned the politics of consensus and indulged in politics of confrontation. Whatever they are facing today is a result of the politics they have practised. If we come to power in near future, they should remember that the onus will be on them as the Opposition to co-operate in developmental issues.”
Interestingly, Mr Sen again claimed that the rate of investment in the industrial projects had increased since 2001. “The Opposition claims that investors have lost their interest in the state and the industrialisation process has stopped. This false propaganda may also adversely affect us and shake our confidence. We also start feeling that people do not want industry but this is not the real picture,” Mr Sen asserted. He also urged the Trinamul to not mislead the people. “We do not want to set up industries at the cost of the farmers. Agriculture and industry will go hand-in-hand,” Mr Sen added.