Bhattacharya promises to carry on with economic reforms

Kolkata: Even as his senior ministerial colleagues took to the streets celebrating election victory, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya spent most of the day in his party office drafting the blueprint for his government in the next five years.

And it was his pet theme of industrialisation that he highlighted during his first press conference after the poll results were announced.

Promising to carry on with his policy of economic liberalisation, Bhattacharya said that the first priority of his government would be to push for further economic reforms.

"The state needs a lot of investment and we will continue to create an atmosphere so that West Bengal becomes a desired destination for investors," said the 62-year-old whose clean image and pro-reform policies are hailed as the reasons for the Left Front bucking the anti-incumbency factor.

But he refused to take credit for the clean sweep asserting that it was the pro-people reform policies drawn by the collective leadership of the Left Front Government. He also rubbished rumours that there were serious differences within his party over his pro-reform policies. Toeing the party line, Bhattacharya explained that he was against the "wholesale privatisation of each and every public sector."

Despite the growing strength of the Left Front after victories in the states of Kerala and West Bengal, Bhattacharya said that his party would adopt a non-confrontational attitude with the United Progressive Alliance Government in the Centre. "We will raise the issues with the government on areas where we have differences and hopefully we will be able to resolve them," he said.