The Hindu : National : Bardhan’s ‘advice’ to West Bengal

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Bardhan’s ‘advice’ to West Bengal

“Adopt pro-farmer policy while pursuing industrialisation”

HYDERABAD: Communist Party of India general secretary A.B. Bardhan on Monday advised the West Bengal government to adopt a pro-farmer, pro-employment and pro-people approach while pursuing industrial development.

“The Left Front government should adopt an approach that should be different from that followed in States such as Maharashtra and Gujarat. The path must be different. It is not for me to say. It is for the Left front government to spell out collectively, not the CPI(M) alone,” he said.

He was participating in the inaugural of a symposium on “Socialism in the 21st Century,” organised by the Neelam Rajasekhar Reddy Research Foundation here.

Mr. Bardhan said the statements of West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya on “building capitalism” were creating confusion and giving scope to a sense of alienation among supporters of the Left Front.

“The government cannot build a socialist industry, but can adopt measures through which employment friendly industry is promoted,” he said.

Balanced approach

Acknowledging that the challenge for any Chief Minister was to answer employment and economic development through industrialisation, he said the Government should, however, consider whether its approach for industrial development was at the expense of agriculture.

“The government is building new industry, but it is not talking about the old industry that has to be revived.”

Centre’s claims

Mr. Bardhan dismissed the claims of the Union government on the “tremendous” growth, pointing to “official figures,” which showed that over 77 per cent of the population was still surviving on earnings below Rs. 20 a day. The Centre was encouraging neo-liberal policies that resulted in disparities among people.

“While a majority of the exploited sections continue to live in abject poverty, a handful of millionaires and billionaires are wresting control over the country’s economy and the GDP,” he said.

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