Wise Buddha

When it comes to handling ideological contradictions nobody can quite beat the Marxists. There was West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee explaining to a CII audience in the Capital last Sunday why it8217;s kosher to shut down PSUs owned by the state government but not those owned by the Centre. In case his argument stumps you, there8217;s an explanation. According to Bhattacharjee, public money went to build those owned by the Centre, while the PSUs in his state were really sick units acquired by the state and these, therefore, can be shut down at any time the state government thinks fit. What the chief minister glosses over is that even acquiring sick units involves public money, so why should it be one rule for West Bengal and another for India?

The truth is that Buddhadev Bhattacharjee wants to have his cake and eat it, too. He wants to maintain 8220;ideological purity8221; on tricky matters like FDI, even while he desperately seeks finances from precisely such sources to pull West Bengal out of the rut of economic stagnation into which it had fallen. It is that Left-behind feeling that Bhattacharjee is battling and we sympathise with his plight. Indeed, this newspaper has had several occasions to applaud the chief minister8217;s realism and foresight, which is already bearing results in terms of a greatly improved economic outlook for his state.

But we have a quarrel with this two-faced approach to economic policy. If West Bengal can conduct a 8220;restructuring8221; exercise in which certain units 8212; which Bhattacharjee characterises as 8220;impossible to revive8221; 8212; are closed down, why does his party turn a deeper shade of red when similar suggestions are made regarding loss-making Central government-owned PSUs that are bleeding the national exchequer white? Why do those comprising the CPM8217;s mass base grab their placards and rush to the streets when the Centre talks about raising FDI caps, even as a CPM chief minister makes no bones about the fact that he is looking for FDI 8212; 8220;even 100 per cent FDI in some sectors8221; 8212; to boost the investment climate in his state. Come on, comrades, give us a break. All we ask from you is the wisdom of a Buddha.