Says, she is no answer to West Bengal’s problems
The Left is not right, but the veritable alternative is no better. Noted British economist, and member of UK Parliament's House of Lords, Meghnad Desai on Wednesday lashed out across the political divide of West Bengal.
Desai, professor emiritus, London School of Economics, expressed doubt at the Trinamool Congress chief and Union railway minister, Mamata Banerjee's ability to bring tangible betterment in the state.
“The problem of Bengal can only be solved after the election, if Mamata wins and proves her incompetence. You will get a better government later. I don’t think Mamata is going to solve Bengal’s problems,” Desai said on the sidelines of a CII conference.
With about a year to go before the state goes to the hustings, Desai felt that Banerjee's pro-agriculture plank was unlikely to trigger robust employment opportunities. “Mamata’s populist policy of anti-industrialisation can’t take her long. With this she can’t create jobs for the mass,” he said.
However, not sparing the incumbent Left either, he claimed that the government had pursued a flawed policy with a certain amount of hostility.
“There is no indication that the problems of Bengal will be solved so soon. At some stage, there will be a better government,” he added.
Broaching the land acquisition issue, Desai posited that the removal of the government's disproportional role in acquisition of land for industry was a requirement.
“Buying and selling of land should be an affair between two private parties. As long as the government is involved, politicisation of land deals would continue to happen,” he said.
But West Bengal's principle opposition labeled Desai's comments as “ridiculous” and indicated that it could have political undertones.
“During (the) Singur (agitations), I had visited the UK as part of a Commonwealth Parliamentary party and had met with members of industry there. If he was concerned about the situation here, why did he not raise the issue then? This is a ridiculous statement,” Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly and Trinamool Congress leader Partha Chatterjee said.
“We are not opposed to industrialisation, but we will not allow it to happen at the cost of agriculture. His (Desai's) is more of a political reaction,” he added.
UK government denial of land to Tata Motors unjustified
Meghnad Desai said that the British government's denial to offer an investment guarantee of 340 million pound loan to Tata Motors, so that the takeover of Jaguar Land Rover could be facilitated. "The Labour government behaved very badly with Tata. There is no justification for Tata Motors being refused help which was in the form of investment guarantee and not aid," Desai said. It has to be noted that Tata Motors had taken a loan of 340 million for the acquisition of JLR about 10 months back, but the UK government declined to offer guarantee to the loan.
