Captalism only way to industrialise Bengal - Buddhadeb

Capitalism was the only way to industrialise West Bengal although socialism could have been a better alternative, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee said on Thursday.

"The reality has forced us to accept capitalism as the only way to get funds for industries. It is simply impossible for the state to mobilise funds for industries and we have to depend on capitalism if our economy is to progress," Bhattacherjee, a CPI(M) Polit Bureau member, said.

"We are aware of the filth that is inherent in capitalism but there is no other way at the moment. From where will the state get money for industries? Does the state government have money to set up steel plants?" he told a function to mark the 41st anniversary of CPI(M) mouthpiece 'Ganashakti' here.

He said the most important issue which was being debated in the state and the country was whether industrialisation would be carried out on the basis of progress in agriculture.

His comment came at a time when his government's industrial road map for West Bengal has come under fire from CPI(M)'s allies in the ruling Left Front and the opposition as well.

Allies like the Forward Bloc and RSP have publicly criticized the Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee government saying that the way in which big business houses from the Tatas to the Indonesian Salim Group were entering West Bengal, "is a blemish on the state's Left tradition".