Others must join the Modi-Mamata narrative
In a rare show of public concurrence with each other, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday emphasised the need for close Centre-State relations. While Mr Modi said that the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister together form “Team India”, Ms Banerjee remarked that “if India develops so does Bengal”. Both the leaders shared the dais at the inauguration of the around Rs16,000 crore IISCO steel plant modernisation project in Burnpur, West Bengal.
The remarks by the leaders should be heartily welcomed because they demonstrate the commitment of the two Governments to set political differences aside when it comes to economic development. It can only be hoped that this maturity and vision is sustained, so that it not only helps West Bengal and the country, but also encourages other States which have regimes that rival the Bharatiya Janata Party or its allies, to work in tandem with the Centre on issues of growth.
The newly-seen bonhomie between Mr Modi and Ms Banerjee does not, however, mean that the parties they represent will suddenly become bosom friends. Far from it, their competing politics at the ground level will probably continue to be as sharp as before. Still, one must hope that the reaching out to each other by the parties' tallest leaders will at least reduce the level of acrimony that has often taken violent shape in the State. Ms Banerjee has a long list of grievances, primary among them the huge debts that her Government has inherited from the left Front Government.
She wants nearly all of them written off. But the Centre has not yet indicated its mind on the matter. Meanwhile, the BJP cannot miss the fact that the Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress had backed the Centre recently on certain issues, such as the land border agreement Act, and had warmed up to the Good and Services Tax Bill, saying it would back the proposed legislation if the Government assured that the State would not lose out on revenues in the process. So, there are ample areas where the Trinamool Congress and the Union Government can work together.
The Sunday event should also be viewed from the larger perspective of the concept of cooperative federalism and competitive federalism — both of which Prime Minister Modi has been repeatedly emphasising from the day he took charge in May last year. While the Centre and the States working in close proximity, will boost cooperative federalism, individual States pushing aggressively for investments through various incentives as an instrument, will promote competitive federalism, in which too the Centre will extend a helping hand wherever needed.
Thus, West Bengal will have to compete with Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and the rest, for investments. There is no way a State can attract funds if its Government is seen as lethargic, anti-industry and lacking in out-of-the-box initiatives. Some Chief Ministers have already begun seeking investments by organising trade fairs or touring abroad to promote their respective States. The more the States compete with one another, the better the investment climate in the country is going to become. This is a win-win situation for the States and the Centre too.