Govt To Run Background Checks On Industrialists With Investment Plans Bengal Cm
Hindustan Times
West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Friday that his government is checking the background of industrialists and businessmen who have come up with investment proposals in the eastern
state after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government took charge.
“Since we took charge, I have received several proposals regarding industrialisation. I have set up a team led by Vandana Yadav, state industry and commerce secretary, to scrutinise the proposals. I have done some preliminary work. But we don’t want to rush through. We want to see whether they (industrialists) have approached us with a flower bouquet only to take photos with the chief minister or they want to really do something,” Adhikari said while addressing a programme in Kolkata to mark the 12th anniversary of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.
The new BJP government in West Bengal completed one month in office on June 9.
“We want to check whether they are credible business players, whether they have been involved in any bank-related fraud or land fraud, and whether any investigation related to money laundering is pending against them. Checking these is my first task. We also need to check whether they had earlier taken land in the state and whether any units have been set up on those lands or whether they are approaching us just to protect those lands. Are they coming just on a courtesy visit or are they coming up with some specific plan in which I would be interested enough to readily give them land,” Adhikari explained.
On land acquisition, Adhikari said the state government was working on a policy framework that would balance industrial growth with farmers’ rights.
“There is no paucity of land here. Rest assured. Unlike what the Left Front government did in Singur and Nandigram, one need not open fire on people or resort to lathi-charge to acquire land. Also, one need not keep everything under lock and key, which Mamata Banerjee did. Both are anti-people. On March 14, 2007, the then Left Front government ordered firing on people in Nandigram. Mamata washed her hands of it and asked industrialists to acquire land,” he added.
Nandigram hit the headlines in 2007 due to an agitation and violence over farmland acquisition by the then Left Front government. At least 14 people were killed, and the mass movements in Nandigram and Singur against land acquisition during 2006–08 paved the way for Banerjee’s political resurgence and propelled her to power in 2011.
Slamming the TMC over the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS), a flagship summit of the previous government, Adhikari said that an event management firm was paid ₹635 crore.
“I have a list with me. In the name of BGBS, Mamata Banerjee had given ₹635 crore to an event management firm. We will register a case and an investigation will be conducted. If necessary, we would hand over the case to an agency to probe money laundering,” he added.
Asked whether the BJP government at the Centre was considering any special economic package for the state, the chief minister said that the Centre and the state would jointly help rebuild West Bengal and that the state budget would reflect an outline of the plans.
“I don’t know what is meant by a special package. The previous government had opposed various schemes of the Union government and had deprived people of availing their benefits. The UPA-I and UPA-II governments had given ₹2.65 lakh crore to West Bengal. The former chief minister was a minister in the UPA-II government for three years. But despite the fact that the state was being run by a non-BJP government, the Narendra Modi government allocated ₹12 lakh crore between 2014 and March 31, 2025.”
“The Centre and the state will jointly help rebuild West Bengal, and you will get an outline on June 22 when the budget is presented. You will see how we have managed the state’s economy, and the double-engine government hopes to make the state self-reliant with the Prime Minister’s ‘Vocal for Local’ mantra,” he added.
Reiterating the new government’s policy of zero tolerance towards riots and violence, the chief minister said that the clashes which broke out in Malda and Murshidabad were now a thing of the past.
“You are probably referring to the model in Dhuliyan, Samserganj, Mothabari and Beldanga. They tried to gauge the situation by ransacking a police outpost in Asansol and pelting stones at police officers in Park Circus. I don’t think you have seen anything of that sort after that. They won’t be able to do it. And if they do, they won’t see a worse chief minister than me,” he said.