Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, is on a severe rift from party ideologists and economists like Prabhat Patnaik, Jayati Ghosh and Utsa Patnaik. Reportedly, he considers them ‘cut off from reality’.

The body of Left economists who advise the CPI-M is ‘academic’ and ‘not in touch with reality’, said Buddhadeb in an exclusive interview with the CNN-IBN.

He said that he has read the Mr. Prabhat Patnaik’s writings, and does not agree at all with what Mr. Patnaik has to say.

He has been quoted as saying, -

I have serious differences with his (Patnaik’s) views on industrialization.

Patnaik is the key person for the state planning board of Kerala. He had taken up the project at the invitation of Chief Minister V S. Achyuthanandan. Patnaik had conveyed his views against the state government accepting loans from international financial institutions, including the World Bank.

Buddha had suggested that his opinion was not in conformity with the ‘correct party view’, as the previous CPI-M congress in 2004 had agreed on taking loans from these organizations.

Buddha was asked in the interview whether he had the support of his party politburo on his opinions on industrialization.

I have their complete support. My politburo is solidly behind me.

- he said.

About the more profound question of industrialization in the state, Buddha declared that there was ‘no question of any rollback’.
He further said -

I cannot betray the unemployed youth. I cannot go back on the promise of generating jobs. That was the mandate.

However, later in the interview, he corrected his statement saying that he has ‘learnt his lessons’ from Nandigram. He maintained his ‘no rollback’ view but said that he would proceed ‘cautiously’ from now on.

Buddha explained that he would definitely consider the case of any ‘genuine grievance of land-losers’, and would stop the acquisition of land in that case. According to him, land acquisition is such a consistent issue in West Bengal as there is only one per cent farmland in this state.

The question is, has Buddha really ‘learnt his lessons’?

Nandigram was a disaster and the least diplomatic project that a matured politician could ever take up. Following this, his differences with Left theorists does not look good for him at all. After all, some issues definitely need a theoretical insight to be dealt with.

Buddha’s firm standpoint regarding industrialization is to be admired no doubt. However, to implement his plan for good, certain factors and issues are to be kept in mind and dealt with first. To build an infrastructure, one has to ensure that the ground it stands on is strong and secure.

Or is our Chief Minister on a spree of self-confidence? Does he consider his own views as ‘The Ultimate’? That may not be too good for him in the long run, however.

Via : IBN
Image Credit : Fruits of our Labour