Political differences won't hinder development: Mamata Banerjee

Kolkata, Jan 7: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday invited industrialists to set up businesses in the state and assured them that political differences would not block the road to development.

"Let me assure all of you that political differences will not block the road to development, which will continue. We will continue our relations, Centre-State relations," Banerjee, whose party Trinamool Congress had crossed swords with the Centre on the GST, Land Ordinance and increase in the FDI limit in insurance, said.

The Chief Minister was addressing businessmen from across the globe after inaugurating the two-day Bengal Global Business Summit along with Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Wooing investors, she assured them of providing all facilities needed for setting up industry in all sectors and said, "Land is available. No problem for land. We have the land use policy and land bank."

However, Mamata, whose party stormed into power in the state in 2011 on the back of land agitations in Singur and Nandigram, reminded the gathering, "We are not going acquire the land forcibly". Sharing dais with Jaitley at the summit, being attended by many corporate bigwigs, she said, "We want to see that in the federal structure states are strengthened...If the states are strong, the Centre will be strong."

Banerjee said that the state recently announced a new policy for IT, industry and had clear policies for other sectors too.

"Bengal is the gateway to South-East Asia, Bengal is number one in MSME when it comes to growth in bank loans for the sector," she said.

"We have our land bank and land map, land policy ready and enough manpower. Our manpower is skilled and cheap," Mamata said claiming that the state had witnessed big difference in the last three years. Referring to the core committees set up by her government for different sectors, she said, "The captains of industries are guiding us, advising us".

"Bengal is rising and shining. Bengal is a land of billion opportunities," Banerjee said appealing to industrialists to invest in the state.

PTI