A Marxist At The Stock Market
The countrys most famous Marxist, West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu, stepped into history when he entered the Calcutta Stock Exchange (CSE) for the first time ever yesterday to inaugurate the on-line trading, a symbol of capitalism.
Basu was an instant hit with the brokers and the corporate bosses thronging Lyons Range, which houses the exchange. This once again proved that the octogenarian icon of the new-age Left, which is tempered with a good deal of business sense, still remains the states most successful ambassador.
Peppering his address with typical straight-faced wit, Basu, who has been the states Chief Minister for 20 years, said that he had often passed by the building, seen its photographs in newspapers, but never ever entered the CSE premises next door to his office at the Writers Buildings, the state secretariat.
I have often seen a large number of people shouting, but did not know what about, he said referring to the open outcry system.
Basu spoke with pride on his rapport with the industry, now a subject of discussion in the state. He said there was now a good degree of coordination and cooperation between his government and the business chambers. Since we call ourselves Marxists, there were some fears initially when we came to power. But, all that has now been removed, Basu said.
The audience listened with rapt attention when Basu explained why the Left Front had to initially concentrate on land reforms, rather than industrial development, in the state. He also explained the ill-effects of the freight equalisation policy for iron and steel and how the state had suffered owing to wrong planning and policies of the Centre.
The base has now been created, he said pointing out that the Rs 5,000-crore Haldia petrochemicals project in the joint sector, which finally got underway, had the state partnering the Tata group.
Basu had a word of praise for the former Union finance minister Manmohan Singh of the Congress too, who, he said, had promised him assistance for the Haldia project from the IDBI and the financial institutions (FIs).I must say, he kept his word, Basu said.
Basus address to the broking community made it clear that the capital market has now begun figuring in his vision of Bengal. The stock exchange, too, would play a major role. I am told we are the second largest exchange after Mumbai, he said amid applause.
Basu also reeled off statistics on the pace of industrial rejuvenation in the state. The total number of project approvals over the past few years stood at 1,406, aggregating an investment of Rs 31,526 crore. Of these, 214 projects worth Rs 6,728 crore had been implemented, while Rs 20,000 crore worth of projects were in various stages of implementation.
Bengal, for long synonymous with hours of power cuts, was now a power-surplus state and exported power to Andhra Pradesh and Assam. But, this will not last as industrial growth picks up. So I am not taking any chances and we are investing Rs 20,000 crore in the power sector, he said.
Basu advised the exchange to grow in size to support the revival of industry in the state and its move to becoming a gateway to south-east Asia. But, he said that CSE would also have to protect the investors against incidents like, the scandalous share market scam.