Former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee slammed the Mamata Banerjee government on Sunday for “driving out industry from the state”. For the first time, he reacted sharply to the Trinamul Congress’ alleged role in the exit of ABG Haldia Bulk Terminals (HBT) from Haldia in East Midnapore and held state commerce and industries minister Partha Chatterjee squarely responsible for the Loba fiasco in Birbhum.
Addressing a Citu rally at Dumurjola in Howrah, Mr Bhattacharjee said, “The industry is leaving the state. No one knows about the future of the industry here. Singur has already turned into a burning ghat. In Haldia, three officials of a cargo handling company were abducted at night and threatened not to set their foot again. The company was forced to leave due to a Trinamul Congress MP who wanted to benefit another party MP. This made the government’s intention clear.”
He added, “At Dubrajpur in Birbhum, a machine’s recovery led to firing and disturbance. While all are pointing fingers at the concerned minister, he is claiming to have given no instruction! In fact, it has been their (Trinamul Congress) habit to deny their role in face of questions. They term incidents either as fabricated or false.”