TIME IS A great teacher. Time is a great healer, too. Imagine Mamta Banerjee playing host to the Tata group chairman! Well, the wheel appears to have come full circle. When in Opposition, Mamta Banerjee went ballistic on the Nano small car project that the Tatas had proposed in Singur. Her sustained movement in 2008 might have won her the chief minister job. But it forced the Tatas to shift the Nano project to Gujarat. What West Bengal lost, Gujarat gained. Much water has flown under the bridge since then. Mamta Banerjee, too, has transitioned – from being an opposition leader to becoming the chief minister of West Bengal. When reality strikes, change becomes inevitable. Ask the West Bengal Chief Minister, she will vouch for it. On 9 July, N Chandrasekaran, chairman of the Tata Group, met Mamta Banerjee at the state secretariat to explore investment opportunities. Of late, the West Bengal chief minister has been very cordial towards the Tata group. That sounds very encouraging. The Nano episode had indeed constrained the ability of the authorities to woo investment into West Bengal. Political leaders across the spectrum often indulge in the game of one-upmanship to win the battle of ballots. A country like India with a population of nearly 140 crore needs a balanced approach to development. Everything should not be viewed from the prism of politics. A realistic assessment and a calibrated approach will be the only way to adopt.
In Tamil Nadu, the extreme position taken by the former AIADMK government in ordering the closure of Sterlite Copper plant in Thoothukudi a few years ago resulted in the permanent shut-down of the factory following a Supreme Court order. A calibrated action in this instance, perhaps, could have produced a better solution. Be that as it may, we must move forward. A sense of reason must guide any action.