What Prakash Karat did to Man Mohan, Mamta is doing to Buddha. It was Indo-US Nuclear deal there, here it’s Buddha’s dream to revitalize West Bengal’s image as industry-friendly state with Tata Motors Rs 1600 crore ‘Nano’ manufacturing plant. In both cases, the nation’s interest remained the causality. Man Mohan Singh could manage the trust win with Amar’s tricks and formulae. Unfortunately, there is none to do that for Buddha. However, is there someone who can save the situation? Can Ratan Tata with his management skills and wonderfully attractive personality mesmerize Mamta? Only time can answer this question.

I am sure Tata Motors will come out with Nano from Singur itself. But then I am also sure Tata Motors must have a fallback strategy, though it denies. Very soon in future, Tata Motors can have another plant in perhaps Gujarat, Orissa or Tamil Nadu, this time near a port dedicated for export.

I shall like to go back to the downfall of Hindustan Motors near Singur. Though a poor management was the main cause, but the union played the role of a catalyst in accelerating the downfall.

It happened with many industrial establishments in West Bengal. Managers got gheraoed, and assaulted, investment stopped, and any productivity raising drive was opposed. Union leaders started running the show and the supervisors got demoralized. It was CPM then. It is Mamata’s Congress now. And this war is for supremacy between left and Mamata will be at the cost of the prosperity of the state and its people. Trinamul Congress has presented the first significant opposition to the 31-year leftist rule in West Bengal. But why should few wins in local elections make Mamata so mad, there are miles to go? She would have shown magnanimity and agreed for this plant keeping her options for future projects open.

While Tata threatens to withdraw, the Left Front staged a massive rally around the factory site in Singur. But Mamta is not ready to concede and is expected to go ahead with indefinite siege of the Plant. Buddha still hopeful about peaceful agitation.

How can with all these protests and agitations outside the boundary wall and a lurking fear of misbehaviour or assault, the employees of a new plant keep on working and solving the teething and complicated technical problems to productionize the manufacturing lines? Unfortunately, Mamta can’t understand that. In an ideal case for a country like India and a state like West Bengal, all the political parties would have ensured a congenial atmosphere and provided all assistances to the manufacturer to get the commissioning fast. Tata Motors is already late in putting Nanos in market. The auto lovers of world over are eagerly awaiting and so watching the development. Should it not be criminal offence against the nation and punishable too?

Let Mamata as well as Buddha understand clearly the damage has been done. Industrial houses will be hesitant hereafter to commit investment, even when Mamata occupies the CM’s chair. Tata Motors will never dream to have any expansion in Singur plant and will set up another plant in better location and surely in other state. One can only be sorry for such a state of madness.
And who will be looser? Only the people of West Bengal. Is Ratan repenting today about his decision that he took with all good and honest intention to pull up West Bengal.