The Hindu : Buddhadeb defends World Bank loans

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 01, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Buddhadeb defends World Bank loans

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, JAN. 31. The West Bengal Chief Minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, has defended his Governments recourse to loans from World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the United Kingdom's DFID and other international financial bodies as necessary for the State's development.

He said these loans did not carry any `conditionalities' and the State Government "was not being dictated to" by any foreign agency. He differentiated the loans taken by the West Bengal Government from those taken by other Government's by asserting that there had been no condition to change fiscal or taxation policy and neither had any cuts been ordered in subsidies to people.

Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, Mr. Bhattacharya said that there had been a "persisting image problem" regarding the Left Front Government of West Bengal which had inhibited private investment. This was being addressed to by the Government, as a result of which Rs. 2,000 crores and more of investment was coming into the State annually.

While offering industrialists all help, including curbing "irresponsible trade unionism", the West Bengal Government also reiterates that these industrialists would not be allowed to follow "hire and fire" policies. Nor would the workers' right to form unions or the right to strike be curtailed, he said.

Reacting to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister's oft-quoted remark regarding obsolescence of all "isms" except tourism, Mr. Bhattacharya said communism retained its relevance and capitalism could never be accepted as the last stage of human civilisation. He agreed that communists had made mistakes in the past, but had learnt from these and moved forward.

He said the Left Front Government was working in a capitalist system and could not be expected to implement its party programme. Despite the "constraints" imposed by this system and by successive Central Governments, the Left Front Government had initiated far-reaching land reforms. Under these reforms 94 per cent of the peasantry, who were small and marginal farmers, came to control 70 per cent of the land. These poor peasants had also controlled the Panchayats since 1978. Even today, with private investment coming into the State, education, health and food remained either free or highly subsidised for the poor, he said.

It was on the basis of this long-term achievement that the Left Front was confident of winning back at least half of Lok Sabha seats that the opposition had won last time, he said.

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