Budedhadeb eminently proved how the government led by mainly his party mastered the art of oiling the business barons unconditionally by himself meeting them in Mumbai on 2 June, 2003. The line-up included Ratan Tata, Adi Godrej of Godrej Industries, Anand Mahindra of Mahindra and Mahindra, Ajoy Piramal of Nicholas Piramal, M.K.Sharma, the vice-chairman of Hindustan Lever and Dominic Crice of J.P. Morgan.

The meeting with the domestic and foreign business magnates was followed by the CM’s tour of Italy to attract Italian majors in leather, fruit processing industries, together with a high-level business entourage comprising RPG Group head R.P.Goenka, Bengal Ambuja Chief Harsh Neotia, ITC Chief Y.C. Deveshwar, CII Eastern Indian Chairman Sanjoy Budhia, Indian Chamber of Commerce leader C.K.Dhanuka, jute baron S.K.Bajoria and S.S.Kumar of the Indian Leather Exporters Association.185 From the head of the West-Bengal chapter of the CII to the industrial secretary of West Bengal, Mr. Abhijit Sen, could not recall any previous matching campaign on such a scale in the past taken up by the "Left" Front government.186 The jamboree, involving 150 top industrial magnates and their representatives, and "Marxist" Chief Minister Buddhadev as the key star, was held in no other better place than the Tajmahal Hotel in Mumbai.

Budahadev stooped as low as possible to hug the industrial barons by promises of reining in the militant working class of West Bengal. At the ballroom of the posh hotel the head of Boston Consulting Group, Mr. Arun Maitra popped the question "Are you satisfied with the law and order situation". The Telegraph report of 3 June 2003 stated that the question was related to "law and order and labour militancy" and the humble Buddhadev responded appealingly "Things are not that bad." What a humiliating surrender! Labour militancy was projected as something bad before the captains of industries. The hypocrite C.M unmasked himself and the CPM-led government by answering to a straight question of Pallabi Jha, representative of a splinter Walchand group : "Though Left, we know the reality and we invite investment from various parts of the country and the world."187

Mr. Ratan Tata certified the "Marxist" CM, the Polit Bureau member of the CPM, heaping all praises on him with the words: "West Bengal needs promotion and I think he is the chief minister who will make it happen."(Ibid) Citing examples of ITC, Videocon, Mitsubishi and Siemens in West Bengal the CM said that "the ground situation was vastly different from what it is perceived to be." He also said that the state was in the process of setting up five agri-export zones as well as special economic zones for gem and jewellery industries.188

The pertinent question is through such so-called promotion of West Bengal with the ‘Marxist’ CM at the head who is actually being promoted? Which classes are to gain economically through the exploitation of labour power of the toiling masses and will the commodities thus produced be generally consumed by the common masses of India?

Notes