Buddha uses Vietnam, Cuba to win reform debate

Not everyone in the CPIM) was happy about his economic reforms and his acknowledgment of private capital and foreign direct investments as essential inputs for the state’s development. Frayed tempers, intense debate and sharp exchanges marked the proceedings at the district committee meetings where party aparatchiks took on the reformist chief minister.

But at the end of the party’s district conferences—19 in all—the chief minister prevailed over his critics. But it was tough.

Delegates in as many as half-a-dozen district committees, including the powerful North and South 24 Parganas and Kolkata, raised issues pertaining to the government’s new economic policy.

‘‘Don’t worry, I am stepping cautiously,’’ Bhattacharjee soothed his party colleagues of whom some questioned the government’s wisdom in accepting foreign funds. But the chief minister admitted that there might be an absence of a proper communication between the government and the party on certain issues. ‘‘I will ensure that there is a proper mechanism for a better interaction between the two,’’ he said in one of the conferences.

An incident at the Burdwan district conference, perhaps, points to the kind of resistance Bhattacharjee had to face. Members at the district committee protested against Kinley mineral water bottles distributed to the delegates. Some of them said products from ‘‘MNCs’’ and ‘‘imperialist countries’’ should be withdrawn—a throwback to the days when Coca-Cola used to be treated in a similar fashion. Kinley water bottles didn’t do the rounds any more at the conference.

If the protest was symbolic in nature, the more substantive resistance came from delegates during the South 24 parganas district conference and also at the Kolkata district conference.

Delegates referred to international funding agencies such as the DFID and the ADB and sought clarification as to how far the funds raised from these agencies benefited the poor. Some wanted to know why the government was allowing industries by converting agricultural land. ‘‘How can we continue to believe that the economic interests of the people are being safeguarded by the government?’’ said a delegate.

The chief minister built his defence around other communist countries and referred to Cuba and Vietnam. Vietnam was one of the countries to take the maximum FDI, Bhattacharjee told his colleagues. ‘‘Cuba was doing the same. Then why not us?’’ he wondered.

Bhattacharjee argued that the situation was such that nobody could say “No” to FDI. ‘‘We will have to take a cue from their example,’’ he said. ‘‘Marubeni from Japan has come here to invest hugely with superior technology. Do we tell them not to come here? Wipro has come forward to invest. We need investments in IT. What do we tell them? Do we ask them to go away? World Bank, ADB loans are offered. We are also taking their loans. We are taking their assistance in health and education. Do we close our doors on them?’’ he said.

He rattled out more arguments saying DFID grants were coming in many areas including development of bastis. Should the government refuse them, the chief minister asked. ‘‘A sister concern of Pepsi wanted to set up a unit in Sankrail. It will generate employment. Will it be appropriate to ask them to go back,’’ he said.

The message was loud and clear—there was no alternative to reforms. In fact, Benoy Konar, one of the CPI(M) hardliners in the Central Committee told The Indian Express: ‘‘I also think that now there is no alternative to taking money from international financial institutions and no alternative to inviting foreign direct investment in the state.’’ He admitted that the state has largely overcome its financial crisis with the help of foreign funds.

Now, the CPI(M) state meet is likely to give its stamp of approval to Bhattacharjee’s reform agenda. But certainly not before another round of intense debate beginning tomorrow.