Buddhadeb caution on modernising markets

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said that while it was essential to bring in big corporate houses to modernise the market mechanism, it was as important to go slowly and cautiously.

Addressing the 153rd annual general meeting of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, he said: “Small vegetable marketers may lose jobs if big retail comes, and we need to solve this problem.” He was trying to formulate “a compromise formula to find a modern market mechanism without sacrificing employment,” but declined to elaborate.

Criticising the Opposition for misleading the people, he said they did not understand anything. “At Nandigram, before we could convince the people, the Opposition successfully misled them and I faced a horrible situation, but now things are changing,” he said, two days after his visit to the troubled area.

Basu supports CRPF presence in Nandigram

PTI: Despite local and state leaders of his party up in arms over the CRPF's alleged excesses on party supporters at Nandigram, CPI-M patriarch Jyoti Basu on Saturday strongly pitched for the presence of the Central forces there to restore peace.

''We want the CRPF to be in Nandigram for some more time, though there is some criticism about the way they are dealing with the situation,'' Basu said after attending a meeting of the CPI-M state committee.

The CRPF is in Nandigram since early November following its ''recapture'' by armed CPI-M cadre from the Bhumi Ucched Pratirodh Committee.

The CRPF has denied the accusation of ''excesses'' and has said the charges have to be backed with proof for action to be taken.

Basu was also all praise for the chief minister for the way he conducted himself at his first rally in the heart of Nandigram on December 26, the first time he went to the area since trouble broke out there over land acquisition in early January.

''I gathered there was overwhelming response for the party rally addressed by chief minister there. The meeting was a success.''

Basu said the work in panchayats in Nandigram which was stalled all these months had to be expedited. ''There is a lot of money for development work in the area remaining unspent,'' he said.

LF meeting shortly to sort out differences: Biman

Nandigram (PTI): In the wake of criticism by allies on various issues, including Nandigram and differences with the Forward Bloc, the Left Front Chairman Biman Bose on wednesday said he would call a meeting shortly to sort out the issues.

"After CPI(M)'s ongoing district conferences, I'll talk to the partners to sort out differences with our party at a Left Front meeting," Bose, who is also CPI(M) West Bengal State Secretary told a party rally here in the presence of the Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.

Bose said to keep the pace of development going, "we have to maintain unity of the people".

The CPI(M) state Secretary's comments came in the wake of Forward Bloc's differences with the veteran CPI(M) patriarch Jyoti Basu who questioned why the FB had held a rally at Nandigram after 11 months.

Forward Bloc All-India General Secretary Debabrata Biswas had hit back at Basu "for passing verdict on our right or wrong."

Biswas wondered as to why Basu had not asked his party's state Secretary Biman Bose for not being able to send a Left Front team to Nandigram "all these days".

State FB Secretary Ashok Ghosh justified his party's holding of a rally at Nandigram on Sunday since the CPI(M) had not taken 'necessary steps' to restore peace in embattled Nandigram.

Social Activist Medha Patkar shouts slogans at a protest against the police firing and the death of farmers in Nandigram in New Delhi on March 15, 200

Singur, Nandigram incidents not annoyed investors: West Bengal CM

KOLKATA: The Singur and Nandigram incidents over the issue of industrialisation, have not sent "a wrong message" to investors, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said on Friday. Though the state received negative publicity due to the violent protest by villagers at these two places, a wrong message was not sent, Bhattacharjee told the annual general meeting of Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry here.

"There has been no withdrawal of proposed investments which were committed by the investors," the chief minister said, adding "investment flows have not been affected."

The year 2007 saw West Bengal receiving its highest investments in the last 15 years. Iron and steel attracted investments to the tune of Rs 90,000 crore, followed by chemicals and petrochemicals and food processing, he said.

West Bengal was a strong contender for setting up of a petrochemicals, chemicals and petroleum investment region (PCP&IR), The state government has already forwarded proposal to the Centre for locating the PCP&IR at Nayachar islands near Haldia.

On the infrastructure front, he said modernisation of Dum Dum airport would start in January 2008 and would be completed by 2010.

BJP seeks “fair investigation”

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party has once again reiterated its demand that the Centre issue a directive to the West Bengal government under Article 355 of the Constitution to ensure “fair investigation” of murder, rape and arson cases in Nandigram.

The demand was articulated by BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad here on Wednesday to coincide with West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattarcharjee’s visit to Nandigram. He said the Calcutta High Court had taken a serious view of the police firing in the area and the West Bengal Governor had publicly condemned the violence.

However, Mr. Prasad regretted “the Chief Minister had not apologised for the violence by Communist Party of India (Marxist) cadre.”

“11 murder cases”

Mr. Prasad was immediately asked by several reporters whether senior BJP leaders or the Gujarat Chief Minister had apologised for the murder, rape and arson allegedly committed by BJP workers, activists and even MLAs during the 2002 riots. “We condemned the violence,” Mr. Prasad said.

The BJP alleged there were 11 cases of murder (7 under the Nandigram police station and 4 under Khejun) in the police firing on the peaceful rally, 14 killings of innocent people under probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation, seven cases of rape in the Nandigram police station area, and many cases of arson.

Even some retired and serving army men and their houses were attacked, Mr. Prasad added while suggesting that the CBI was not being allowed to investigate the cases fairly and freely.
It is to ensure “fair investigation” that a directive from the Centre to West Bengal under Article 355 was needed, he said.