Ranchi: Chief Minister Hemant Soren has invited Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani and some other industrialists to come to Jharkhand and invest in the state during the recent 8th Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) in Kolkata.
Soren, who was invited to the BGBS on February 5-6 by West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, arrived at the business summit with officials. During the event, Soren met some industrialists and invited them to invest in Jharkhand.
BJP leaders in Jharkhand, however, have taken a dig at Soren over his invitation, terming it as "repentance". They welcomed the CM's move saying, it is good that Soren has finally become serious about setting up industries here. Ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Congress, however, clarified that the government will never snatch away land from the tribals and give it to the industrialists.
BJP state spokesperson Pradeep Sinha said if people like the CM who made baseless allegations during the election take meaningful steps to set up industries as a way of repentance, then the state will benefit from it. The BJP leader said that if the India Bloc leaders understand the need for investment then it will be good for the state. BJP always works as per the single window system so that industrialists do not face any problem, he added.
Both JMM and Congress said that the government is not against industrialisation but against the tendency of snatching land from tribals and handing it over to industrialists.
JMM general secretary and spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya said the party is ready to welcome industrialists in the state but on their own terms. "When industries are set up here, 75% jobs have to be given to our people," Bhattacharya said adding, "We have been opposing the way the BJP government has distributed the public sector, especially the petrochemical sector, to selected people, and this is being opposed. We will not snatch the land of the tribals and natives."
Jharkhand Pradesh Congress also has welcomed Soren's invitation to Ambani saying when the Centre is treating the state in a step-motherly manner then setting up industries will increase revenue and employment. Media in-charge of Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Rakesh Sinha said that setting up industries in the state will provide employment to local youth and increase the revenue of the state.
Sinha said industrialists have been invited to invest in the state but the government is not making any lavish expenditures to lure investment. "The previous BJP government spent crores of rupees in the name of Momentum Jharkhand but the net result was zero. The India Bloc government will not act in such manner. We are calling industrialists with full responsibility to come to Jharkhand and invest. If any industry is set up in the state, we will welcome it but will never allow anyone to snatch the land of the tribals or to occupy their plots," the Congress leader said.
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