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Left Front leaders suggest caution on industrialisation

Special Correspondent

The Front believes that there is need for industries

Kolkata: Leaders of the ruling Left Front have agreed that the programme for greater industrialisation should go ahead in West Bengal, but the approach to be adopted by the government should be one of caution.

“The Left Front believes that there is need for industries and the industrial drive will continue. But it should move forward cautiously, taking people into confidence,” Biman Bose, chairman of the Left Front Committee, said here on Tuesday after leaders of the Left parties met for the first time to review the results of the panchayat polls held in the State earlier this month.

On whether this would mean a slowdown in the industrialisation process, Mr. Bose said the Left Front would try to raise the level of people’s awareness as the government’s drive for setting up new industries reflected “progressive thinking.”

Failure to convince people

The failure in some places of not being able to convince the people adequately of the need for setting up industrial projects for which land had to be acquired had, according to a few leaders of the Left, resulted in some reverses suffered by the Left Front in the polls.

Mr. Bose referred to certain districts where transfer of land for new industries was under way and the experience gained there could come in handy for the future.

Leaders of certain Left Front constituents had earlier expressed their misgivings over the manner in which the State government was pursuing its industrial policy.

“The programme for industrialisation will be undertaken in accordance with decisions taken within the Left Front,” Ashok Ghosh, general secretary of the State Committee of the All-India Forward Bloc, said after the meeting.

It was also decided at the Left Front meeting that all the constituents should immediately take initiatives to ease the “strained relations” among some of the Left parties, revolving around the rural polls, Mr. Bose said.

Past differences

The past differences should be put behind as the Front goes ahead in setting up the rural bodies comprising members elected in the panchayat polls, it was agreed.

The Front also decided that its constituents would work unitedly for its nominees to the elections to be held in 13 civic bodies spread over 10 districts as well as the by-elections to some other municipality wards in June.

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