The Statesman: "It is still not clear why Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee refused to grant an appointment to Alfred Ford, senior trustee of Ford Motor Company. The younger Ford was said to be keen to invest Rs 600 crore in a pilgrimage tourism project at Mayapur. Although no explanation has been offered, it is widely believed and for good reason that the West Bengal chief minister developed cold feet on hearing that the scion of the Ford family intended to have a mix of Vedic spiritualism and business at the proposed centre, and hoped to thus transform Mayapur into an international tourist hub.
The irony is that the Chief Minister flies halfway round the world to persuade minor league Caucasians to invest in Bengal but refuses to hear firm investment proposals when Ford visits Writers’ Buildings. By itself, this sends out a message to potential investors. If religion is the sticking point, then Bhattacharjee’s tourism department ought not to be conducting trips to various centres of pilgrimage. The upshot of this will be that the ambitious tourism project may be shifted to Puri as Orissa has evinced keen interest. Bengal’s loss may be Orissa’s gain. Sadly, Bengal’s Marxists never seem to learn. "
Thursday, March 04, 2004
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