Negative publicity of Bengal due to TMC’s fund crunch: Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said the negative publicity of the state was probably due to <g data-gr-id="23">poor</g> financial status of her party Trinamool Congress.

“There is negative publicity about the state despite its progress on all fronts. This may be due to the fact that we are poorest of the poor party,” she said at the CII National Council meet here. Banerjee said, “This is a democratic right (for those who say it) and I can’t challenge that.”

Inviting the captains of Indian industry who converged here at the CII meet here, the chief minister’s narrative ranged from progress on economic parameters to increased industrial investments taking place in the state.

On the oft-repeated issue of availability of land in the state, Banerjee sought to convince the industry that it was not a problem. “Land is available with us in the land bank which is being used to provide for new cities and industrial parks,” she said.

The CM reminded the industry of the rider that she was against taking away land forcibly from farmers and advocated that the input should be purchased directly. Companies like SAIL, DVC and NTPC were investing in Bengal, she said. She gave the helpline number saying that any problem faced would be sorted out by just giving her a call. She also invited the CII members to attend the global business meet in January.

The CM got local impetus when city businessmen Sanjeev Goenka and Y C Deveshwar praised the ease of doing business here.