With the BJP in a hurry to prove their point that the government means serious business, the public at large and Opposition parties are watching, and waiting to see what it brings to the table.

With the BJP in a hurry to prove their point that the government means serious business, the public at large and Opposition parties are watching, and waiting to see what it brings to the table.

With the BJP in a hurry to prove their point that the government means serious business, the public at large and Opposition parties are watching, and waiting to see what it brings to the table.

The West Bengal government had proposed that the industrial policy and Uniform Civil Code (UCC) bill would be in the public domain by August. However, this has not come to fruition. State commerce and industries minister Tapas Roy had held a meeting with industry leaders at the State Secretariat in Nabanna two weeks ago to chalk out a draft of the industrial policy.

Roy said that there are many details involved, due to which it will take some more time for the policy to be implemented. Roy believes an industrial policy must go through several stages before being formulated, or else stakeholders will face difficulties if the government announces the policy without properly adhering to these steps.

The draft policy will be submitted to the cabinet for approval before it is made public.

Industrial leaders are eagerly awaiting an industrial policy, which has not been in place in the state since 2025. The West Bengal Budget tabled on June 22 proposed several industry- and investment-friendly initiatives, including a land pool policy.

With investments pouring in within three months of the BJP being in power in the state, the industrial policy will pave the way forward for industrialists to get a clear perspective with finer details outlined.

The UCC too was to be tabled in the Assembly in August, but there has been no clarity on the same. A panel headed by retired IAS officer Ranjana Desai was approved by the cabinet in the first week of July, with four weeks to review the recommendations of the UCC draft bill.

The bill is expected to use other BJP-ruled states like Assam, Uttarakhand and Gujarat as references—especially Assam, as it has similar demographics, including immigrants from Bangladesh.

“I think it is all controlled by Delhi, and unless Delhi gives the go-ahead, the government here cannot proceed to make anything public. Also, most people in the West Bengal cabinet are novices and hence will need some time,” said Professor Maidul Islam, a political science professor at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences.

Islam also believes that the new government had been overconfident and hasty with such announcements. He also noted that the focus of the state government should move away from the hitting out at the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the Opposition and towards people-centric policies.

Prof Islam also opined that the government has five years' time to implement the policy, and if they did so early, its surprise element would go away.

“I think the government will implement UCC later. It depends on how they will weigh options.”

The Mamata faction of TMC has claimed that the government is not living up to its promises.

“Their plans are unable to materialise and are falling back on their promises. What is Viksit Bharat if they are going back on their word?” said MLA Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay.

“The CM must talk in a manner that suits him. Also, it has been three months since they have been in power—the government must continue their work beyond mere words,” he added.

With the BJP in a hurry to prove their point that the government means serious business, the public at large and Opposition parties are watching, and waiting to see what it brings to the table.

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