The Bengal government’s decision to scrap the IT project with Wipro and Infosys has evoked mixed responses from the CPI(M)’s central leadership. While certain leaders said scrapping the deal was the only option for the government, others said the CM should have stuck to his guns.
However, top sources in the party said that not everyone agrees with this giving up the policy of industrial development. “It’s almost like caving in to the Trinamool even before the election dates have been announced,” said a senior leader.
Others, however, concede that chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is on a sticky wicket. “After Singur and Nandigram, came the Vedic village controversy, everything connected to land acquisition is turning out to be political poison for the party,” said a senior politburo member.
The fraudulent manner in which land was acquired for Vedic Village in Rajarhat and the involvement of both the CPI(M) and Trinamool workers and MLAs in the fiasco was probably the last straw that broke the camel’s back.
“It is highly unlikely that the government will pursue its policy of industrialisation in the next two years. Instead, the CPI(M) will concentrate on winning back rural voters who have deserted the party,” added a top source.
