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Furore over visit of business magnate

Marcus Dam

Debate about industrial growth and land acquisition continues

KOLKATA: Seldom has a visit from a foreign business magnate to the city generated as much heat in political and administrative circles as that of Benny Santoso. The chief executive officer of the Indonesia-based Salim Group is to arrive here on Thursday. Mr. Santoso is to discuss with Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee the future of the proposed projects in the State for which a Memorandum of Understanding was signed two months ago in Jakarta.

Overshadowing the visit is the debate about industrial growth and acquisition of land for setting up industries. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has dispelled any doubts that might have existed about its support to Mr. Bhattacharjee's initiatives to boost the State's economy through foreign direct investment for greater productivity and employment generation.

However, the Opposition, led by the Trinamool Congress, accuses the CPI(M) of robbing farmers of their land in the name of industrial growth and infrastructure development.

The battle lines have been drawn as the different political formations prepare to draft questions of industrial growth and existing patterns of land usage in the run up to the crucial Assembly elections next year.

Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee has threatened a siege in those parts of the city that Mr. Santoso is to pass through. This is to protest against the alleged conversion of agricultural land into industrial land for the proposed projects in South and North 24 Parganas and Howrah districts.

Mr. Bhattacharjee has appealed to the Trinamool Congress leadership to ensure that its supporters do not disrupt Mr. Santoso's visit as it would tarnish the image of the city as a destination for prospective investors. He has said he is open to discussions to ensure transparency in dealings with foreign investors.

Ms. Banerjee, however, has indicated that she will make the protest an issue in her party's election campaign in the coming weeks.

Unfazed by such rhetoric, the CPI(M) is preparing to counter the confrontationist politics of the Trinamool Congress by emphasising the need for greater industrial development in the State, even if it means encouraging FDI.

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Furore over visit of business magnate

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