Mitra: Sustained work needed to fix Bengal's finances

Trinamool is seen as a party against globalisation, but at Ficci, you have been an active proponent of free market economy? Isn’t it contradictory?
It was for the first time in the history of Railways that Mamata Banerjee on the floor of Parliament said, “I appoint Padmashree Dr Amit Mitra as chairman of a totally new expert committee on public-private partnership.” There was never such a committee in the history of Railways. Many Indian companies and top technology-owning companies have applied for electrical engines, diesel engines and EMU. So, it is the most constructive, technology-based, cutting-edge PPP collaboration. What could be more industry friendly than that? It is a wrong notion that TMC is against industry and globalisation. TMC is against companies who come and try setting up factories through eviction of farmers.

Nandigram is a case in point, where a company was brought in by the West Bengal government, and they went to the point of sending their own cadres to take away villagers’ land. The communists are supposed to be against multinational companies, and they brought an Indonesian company. Taking land like this can only happen in China, where there is a one-party system. This is democracy. The CPI(M) thought they were living in China.

West Bengal’s finances are not in good shape. How does the Trinamool propose to bring it on track?
The solution is sustained work, which will be the foundation, given by the manifesto of Mamata Banerjee. I don’t think any political party has ever come out with a 200-day programme and a 1,000-day programme. So, what will happen in the reconstruction of Bengal is vividly given in the manifesto. There is a commitment achievable by time.

Can you throw light on West Bengal’s finances?
The state of finances is dependent on the growth of the state, the confidence in the state and the existing entities. Now, those industries which are here, are not expanding. There has been a massive flight of capital. So, who is going to pay taxes? Slowly, in a sustainable way, based on the manifesto, we will move on sustainable growth path, with an eye on the bottom of the pyramid. The state has not done anything to address poverty, lack of infrastructure, water and drainage issues in the last 34 years. They created notions like gherao.