Bengali leaders in the Union ministry are confident about the much-awaited political change in Bengal in the wake of Trinamool’s victory in recently-held civic polls, learns Satyavir Singh.
Unarguably, Bengal has had been a political furnace which has witnessed some of the major events of the Indian history. It has been a genesis of political activism and a laboratory for political ideologies. The state had spawned some of the most revolutionary leaders and social activists of the country. Today, Bengal is on the brink of a major political development: In an unprecedented shift in power, the Trinamool Congress had registered a landslide victory in the recent civic polls first time that any party has won an election against the Left in the last 33 years.
This much-awaited success has filled confidence among Bengali leaders, who were longing for this fateful day for decades. “This triumph is seen as a signal of major political change in the backdrop of assembly elections next year. Finally, the people of West Bengal have realized they have a ruse (Trinamool) against the left which could throw them out of the state. Development and industrialization was completely held up for the past three decades by them. I hope that a new fervor of growth will be seen there,” says CM Jatua, Minister of State, Information & Broadcasting.
Echoing the views of Jatua, Sultan Ahmed, MoS, Tourism adds that Mamata’s leadership is crucial to the growth of West Bengal. “Madam (Mamata) has immense potential to bring Trinamool to power in Bengal,” he believes.
Jatua recalls the time when Bengal was one of the fastest growing states under the leadership of B C Roy. “Dr Roy was one of the most dynamic leaders that Bengal has ever produced. Under his rule, Kolkata was one of most preferred destinations for investors. But when CPI(M) came to power, the reversed the growth process,” he sighs. Ahmed took a dig at the Left for violent politics. “Violence had been rife during the rein of the left. The West Bengal Government has acquired thousands of acres on the name of industrialization but did not give compensation, nor did it set up industries,” alleges Ahmed.
Jatua and Ahmed highlighted the contributions of the Centre in bringing positive development in the state while going against the anti-development policies of the state government. They gave account of the accomplishments that their respective ministries have achieved in the first year of the UPA government. Jatua revealed that I&B ministry is planning to launch another Doordarshan channel in Bengali. When asked about any special plans of Information & Broadcasting ministry to reinstate Bengali film industry, Jatua divulges, “We will set up a state-of-art lab at the SRFTI (Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute), Kolkata. Due to lack of infrastructure and technology, talented directors and technicians had headed to either Chennai or Mumbai. This initiative will give a new lease of life to the industry.”
Moving on to the tourism sector, Ahmed is giving special emphasis on rural tourism in the state. “The concept of rural tourism has been quite successful in Andhra Pradesh. We are trying to replicate the idea in the other parts of India including Bengal,” informs Ahmed. He told us that an upward trend has been witnessed in Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in the last one year.
Ahmed does not believe that Naxalism is a deterrent force to the tourism sector in Bengal. “Naxalism is confined to only few rural areas and hence would not affect our plans to encourage tourism in the state,” ensures Ahmed.
Jatua urges NRIs to help Bengal in strengthening the infrastructure of the state. “Non-resident Bengalis should come forward in building a new Bengal. The state lacks infrastructure and civic services. They can contribute tremendously in these areas,” he beams.
