The article by Ishita Ayan Dutt on West Bengal’s former chief minister was revealing (“The fall guy,” July 9). It is strange that a leader in this day and age worked for five to six hours a day but still expected his colleagues or government employees to work diligently for nine to 10 hours. Idealism without real action often comes to a sorry pass and the fall of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) cannot be merely attributed to the Singur controversy. The Left government had failed to ensure economic growth in the state and this is evident from two things. First, people leave West Bengal in search of education, medical help and jobs. Second, the per capita consumption of power, a crude proxy for all-round and shared progress of West Bengal is way below other states. Hence, mere praise from an industrialist who does not wish to reveal his name is of no consequence to the common man.
P Datta, Kolkata
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