Age Correspondent
New Delhi, July 4: Railway minister Mamata Banerjee has found a friend in the Marxist industry minister of West Bengal, Mr Nirupam Sen. While West Bengal state secretary Biman Bose trashed the Railway Budget, Mr Sen, who had been pushing for industrialisation of the state, went on to "welcome her proposals". Mr Sen welcomed her proposal to start a 1,000-MW power plant in Bengal as well as attempts to revive sick industrial units in the state.
On the move to start the 1,000-MW power plant in Bengal, Mr Sen said: "We have written several letters to the Centre to let us set up industries on railway land lying vacant for decades." Till now we have not been allowed to do so. It is good that some projects have now been announced to be set up on this land. On the whole, I am happy," he said.
Mr Sen also welcomed the proposal in the Rail Budget to take over the ailing Burn Standard and Braithwaite, two major wagon manufacturing units in the state. He said CPI(M) MP Basudeb Acharia had earlier written to Ms Banerjee’s predecessor, Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav, in this regard.
The Bengal CPI(M) on Saturday appeared divided on the Railway Budget, with Mr Bose attacking Ms Banerjee on the slew of measures announced for West Bengal expressing scepticism over the implementation of several rail projects.
"Let her first implement all these ambitious projects she has announced for West Bengal, only then can we say anything," Mr Bose said.
Reacting to reported comments by Ms Banerjee that the CPI(M) should now "take some rest", Mr Bose said: "We don’t have time to take rest as we are busy working for the poor and downtrodden in Bengal. We don’t need anyone’s advice too."
Both Mr Bose and Mr Sen are in the capital to attend the CPI(M) politburo meeting beginning Saturday. Notably, the CPI(M) politburo has demanded that the move towards privatisation and outsourcing in the railways should be reversed.
