The war of words between Tata patriarch Ratan Tata and the Bengal Government intensified with both Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Education Minister Partha Chatterjee on Friday taking on the pioneer industrialist for “trying to show Bengal’s industrial atmosphere in poor light” and “advising the critics to compete but not spread canards.”
The Chief Minister who was addressing a Government function in Nadia without naming the top industry magnet said that “some critics are spreading a disinformation campaign against the industrial climate in Bengal but instead of doing so they should take into account what we have done in the past three years” adding “Bengal is today number one in developing small and medium scale industries which many of our friends are ignoring.”
On the other hand, former Industries Minister and present Education Minister Partho Chatterjee said he was “pained at what Ratanji has said”adding “when he came to Kolkata after two years he should have brought some good news like that of returning the occupied lands to the farmers of Singur. Instead of doing so he criticised the industrial climate of Bengal.”
Tata had a couple of days ago said that Bengal’s industry sector was not in a good shape showing how he could not find any industrial activity at the Rajarhaat New Town through which he travelled while coming from the airport.A number of Banerjee’s cabinet colleagues including Finance Minister Amit Mitra immediately picked up the cudgel criticising Tata for his remarks. “He has lost his senses” he said adding he was “truly surprised that he was not even aware before making this comment that the area through which he was driving was strictly for residential and commercial development and therefore could not have had any industrial plants visible to him. It indicates that Mr Ratan Tata is ill-informed and confused about the area he is driving through.”
The Tata Motors and the Government were currently locked in a legal battle in the Supreme Court where the State had appealed against an earlier High Court order rejecting the Government plea to return the occupied lands at Singur where the botched Nano plant was to come up.Reacting rather strongly to Mitra’s statements the Tata chairman emeritus twitted saying “Mr Mitra might believe I have lost my mind. I would be delighted if he could show me what industrial development I missed while driving through Rajarhat. If he cannot then I would have to conclude that he has a very fertile imagination.”