‘Let me say this our doors are always open to anyone who wishes to invest in Bengal and be a part of the progress of the state,’ TMC state president Subrata Bakshi told PTI.
He said that if an industrialist is eager to invest in Bengal, they should engage in direct talks with the government.
The state government has an open mind and is ready to talk to investors who come up with concrete investment proposals.
Without naming Tata, he said ‘Statements, fleeting observations and counter statements are not the way forward.’
Trinamool Congress national general secretary and leader of its parliamentary party Mukul Roy said ‘In terms of national indices, if you compare the national GDP and state GSDP, one would get a clear picture that Bengal is on the fast track to progress.’
Chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, Ratan Tata had recently said that while driving from the airport through Rajarhat in the city he had come across beautiful buildings but it looked like a countryside under development with no signs of industrialisation.
Tata’s remarks were strongly countered by state industry minister Amit Mitra who had said he may be suffering from delusion.
‘Perhaps he has lost his mind (onar motibhrom hoyechhe) ... He should rather focus on other hobbies like flying an aeroplane,’ Mitra said at a Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) conference on Thursday.
Urban development minister Firhad Hakim got even more personal when he riled against Tata as ‘the son of god who comes down to sermonize’. ‘Even a blind man can see the development at Rajarhat. Pity that he could not see that. Looks like he has lost his mind,’ he said at the CII conference.
Tata qualified his remarks on twitter in the evening: ‘My comments yesterday referred to my drive from the airport to the Maurya via Rajarhat. I saw lots of residential and commercial development but not much industrial development. I made no comment about the industrial development in the state. Mr Amit Mitra’s comments are, therefore, surprising.’