Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee once again asserted that West Bengal cannot progress without industrialisation. In what appears to be an effort to woo the younger generation before the upcoming Assembly polls, Mr Bhattacharjee said, “The state government is eyeing scopes to create more employment for the youth and industrial development is the only major option in attaining such job opportunities.” The chief minister was speaking at the inauguration of a cluster of smallscale industries under the banner of Usha Industries at Bansdroni in South 24 Parganas on Sunday.
Stressing that the Left Front government has been able to make progress in agriculture also, Mr Bhattacharjee, however, added, “We need more industries in order to create more job opportunities for the younger generation as agricultural development cannot solely create such amount of job opportunities.” Without naming the Trinamul Congress, Mr Bhattacharjee said, “There is an absence of consensus among the political parties on industrialisation which is in turn stalling the state’s development. Every political party has its own ideology. But when it comes to industrialisation and development, all the parties cooperate.”
He sarcastically said that the industries that were being set up in the state was not for the benefit of the ruling party but for the younger generation. The chief minister added that the Singur episode had brought a jolt to the flow of industrialisation in the state.
Mr Bhattacharjee further said, “There are many industries which are coming up in the state. We have been able to give Infosys land to start their operations at Rajarhat. A steel plant is coming up in Salboni. The Left Front government is also creating scopes for the smallscale industries as it involve less investment but it create huge job opportunities.”