The BJP has not yet been able to eliminate extortion in West Bengal despite coming to power in the state, the party’s state president Samik Bhattacharya said on Saturday, while admitting that a section within his own party was showing the same tendencies.
He said the government had been in office for only two months and that not everything had changed with the change in power.
Bhattacharya also warned party workers, supporters and newly inducted leaders against hurling eggs at opposition leaders, saying such acts could rebound on those now indulging in them. He said Bengal could reverse the flight of capital only if partisan politics was kept out of business, and announced that the government would soon hold consultations before finalising a new industrial policy.
Addressing the ‘Udyami Samagam’ event at the IIT Kharagpur Research Park in Rajarhat on the outskirts of Kolkata, Bhattacharya said, “Our government has come to power only two months ago. We have not been able to solve all problems. If I say on behalf of my party that we have been able to eradicate extortion from everywhere, then I will be making a false claim. There are deviations. People had become accustomed to passing through a system of making easy money through syndicates. Not everything has changed with the change in state power.”
He added, “Some joined the ruling party within four hours, others had dormant wishes that have now surfaced. We are trying to control such tendencies within the party. Our CM Suvendu Adhikari is also trying to apply strict brakes on such tendencies.” Bhattacharya said a section of workers in the party was trying to enter every sector, from education and health to business, with political flags.
Stressing the need to clean up the business environment, he said Bengal was at a point where it could move away from its difficult industrial past.
“We must keep partisan politics out of this system. We have become residents of a political society in West Bengal. We need freedom from it. Till such time Bengal is able to come out of the culture of infiltration of politics in every sphere of life, no government can bring about its effective change and attract investment,” he said.
“We are making an earnest effort to build a government for West Bengal and not a BJP government,” he added.
Bhattacharya said the party had achieved only partial success. “We haven’t been able to provide you with an error-free atmosphere, but we have largely been able to deliver an investment climate that is fear-free. To set up a company, you can now buy your own brick, cement and sand. If someone approaches you, use the phone. He will either leave your premises or find himself inside lock up,” he said.
Calling the BJP government in Bengal one that had “stepped into its adolescence”, he said the business community should point out mistakes directly and protest if needed. “No system can function or be made to live for long by quashing protests. All autocracies across the world inevitably fall. If someone from our side sports a body language of having 207 MLAs and hits the road, then the consequence will be disastrous,” he said.
He added, “The unwarranted egg-therapy we see now can turn on its head and start falling on the other side as well. All, including those in my party, must understand that. Those Sanatanis who have suddenly found a place in our party and are harbouring aspirations for influence and advantage must also remain careful because the trajectory of those eggs can change in no time.”
Referring to the government’s move to scrap the Urban Land Ceiling Act to unlock developable land and attract large-scale industrial and real estate investment, Bhattacharya said the next step would be wider consultation. “
Within the next few weeks, the government will sit in a meeting with the investors in this state, those who have set up start-ups, professors in different universities and our industrialists before drawing up our new industrial policy,” he said.
Bhattacharya said the government was trying to curb extortionary practices, keep politics out of commerce and build conditions for investment, while also warning his own party against excesses.
– Ends
Published By:
India Today Web Desk
Published On:
Aug 1, 2026 23:33 IST
