Trinamool too will play the industry card

Trinamool Congress wants to re-invent itself. In an attempt to ward off its 8220;anti-industry8221; and 8220;anti-development8221; image...

Trinamool Congress wants to re-invent itself. In an attempt to ward off its 8220;anti-industry8221; and 8220;anti-development8221; image and to counter the Marxists8217; campaign that the party is against industrialisation, the party plans to highlight 8216;industrial development and employment opportunities8217; as the theme for its one-day convention of its youth wing.

The convention will be held on February 3 at the Netaji Indoor Stadium and will be presided over by Trinamool Youth Congress president Madan Mitra. The speakers will include party chief Mamata Banerjee, Leader of the Opposition Partha Chatterjee and MP Mukul Roy.

Though the conference is a part of the party8217;s ongoing exercise for organising itself before the panchayat elections, it primarily aims at projecting the party8217;s industry-friendly image. As a prelude, on September 4 last year, Mamata Banerjee and Partha Chatterjee had an interactive session with industrialists at the office of Bengal National Chamber of Commerce where Mamata tried to convince the industrialists that her party was not opposed to industrialisation.

Says party MLA from Bongaon, Saugata Roy: 8220;Today8217;s youth wants industries and jobs. If you want to attract them to the party, you will have to project yourself as a pro-development party.8221;

Partha Chatterjee has even coined a slogan, in keeping with the party8217;s 8216;new8217; image. 8220;Our slogan at the conference will be 8216;Development for all, industry for all, employment for all8217;. In this age of globalisation and market capitalism, if we say that we are opposed to industrialisation, people will reject us. We want development and industrialisation, but not at the cost of poor farmers and fertile land. Our demand is: don8217;t take away fertile land, pay proper compensation, arrange for rehabilitation and then set up industries,8221; he said. He rued the fact the state Government has not yet been able to bring out a land-use map for the state.

8220;The state Government should classify land according to its character. They should identify land where they can set up industries and inform us. If it does not harm the interests of the poor, why should we oppose it,8221; he added.