Amid Bengal’s industry push, BJP cracks down on extortion by its party workers

When the Suvendu Adhikari government came to power, it vowed to make West Bengal conducive for industries and promised to do away with the illegal practices of the former Trinamool Congress (TMC) regime. However, this is easier said than done as many workers have switched from TMC to BJP, indulging in the “cut money” practice.

A day earlier, BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya said that strong action has been taken against BJP workers found to have indulged in “cut money” practice. “Those who have switched from TMC to BJP have been showcaused. We have suspended a few others. We want an explanation on the charges against them,” said Samik Bhattacharya.

While addressing industrialists at a textile fair on Thursday, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari spoke about doing away with the “cut money” culture. “Law and order should be set right. The environment of hooliganism, syndicate raj, cut money, donations and bribes should change. It will be business friendly and there will be a single-window system. There will be provision for land and a policy to ponder and execute projects,” said Suvendu Adhikari.

Pointing out that there will be no room for hooliganism, Adhikari said it is an auspicious time in West Bengal currently and industrialists should take advantage of it.

The emphasis was on collaborative business opportunities like the textile industry which is dependent on Surat and will benefit both as Bengal has the craftsmanship and in other sectors like transportation. West Bengal must rise was the message and not remain in a poor state. Despite the high unemployment rate, human resources is high, education is good and craftsman are good which businessmen should utilise said the CM which inturn help to change the economic condition of the state.

“I assure you, whatever assistance is needed, including making changes in the state's existing laws, I will do that too. You give us a concrete proposal,” added Adhikari. The CM said during a meeting with Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Delhi, she was particularly interested in helping the state in two sectors, particularly the tea gardens and textile industry.

The CM spoke about other investment opportunities in the state, including the Amul curd factory in Howrah. The ₹1,500 crore Shyam Steel factory and the foundation stone laying ceremony for several other projects will take place every month. The ₹4,000 crore steel factory of Amit Metaliks Ltd is slated later this month. The CM said land will be handed over to 25 industrialists next month while the land purchase policy has also begun and farmers are also giving their land for development.

A few days ago, top officials of the West Bengal government met the senior management of Tata Group in Mumbai to discuss various issues, including inviting Tatas to invest in the state again in fields of IT, manufacturing and infrastructure sectors. Meanwhile, the state has reportedly begun talks for an out-of-court settlement in the Tata Nano small car arbitration matter linked to the land dispute at their erstwhile Singur factory over 997 acres of land. In 2023, an arbitral tribunal had asked West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) to settle the compensation matter of ₹766 crore with 11 per cent annual interest to Tata Motors from September 2016 after their exit in 2008. The exit came after anti-land acquisition protests, propelling Mamata Banerjee to power as the CM in 2011.

The Suvendu Adhikari state government is eager to speed up the investment and execution process to keep their promises of getting West Bengal at par with other industry-friendly states. The challenges are many, but the BJP government is optimistic that taking action against wrongdoing will eventually change the perception of the state, including the Herculean task of bringing back Tata to West Bengal.