Stepping up his attack on the previous Trinamool Congress government, Adhikari claimed that the expenditure of the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS)-projected as a showcase of the state’s investment potential-would face scrutiny over alleged financial irregularities.
“An investigation will be conducted. Those responsible will not be spared,” he told reporters at the World Bengal Convention Centre on the sidelines of an event marking 12 years of the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre.
Claiming that he possessed details of the expenditure, Adhikari alleged that a single event management company had received Rs 635 crore for organising various editions of the business summit during the previous regime.
“I have the list. The previous TMC government paid Rs 635 crore to an event management company in the name of organising the Bengal Global Business Summit. There will be an investigation. Not only will we conduct an investigation, but we will file cases. If necessary, agencies that probe financial misappropriation will be entrusted with the matter. We will not spare anyone,” he said.
The chief minister also referred to the recent arrest of former ministers and other corruption probes involving leaders of the previous dispensation.
“You can already see the condition of ‘Pushpas’,” he remarked, alluding to people like TMC’s Falta assembly seat candidate Jahangir Khan who had compared himself with the popular film character. He was arrested in connection with corruption and other charges after the BJP came to power.The announcement marks the latest in a series of investigations launched by the BJP government into decisions and expenditures undertaken during the TMC’s 15-year rule.
The BGBS, launched in 2015, had been one of Mamata Banerjee‘s flagship initiatives to attract domestic and foreign investment to the state. Successive editions of the summit witnessed participation by leading industrialists, diplomats and business delegations from several countries.
The previous government had repeatedly cited investment commitments worth lakhs of crores of rupees announced during the summit as evidence of Bengal’s growing attractiveness as an investment destination.
However, opposition parties, particularly the BJP during its years in opposition, had consistently questioned whether the memoranda of understanding and investment proposals announced at the conclave translated into actual projects on the ground.
Adhikari on Friday revived those criticisms, alleging that the summit had become a costly exercise that benefited event organisers more than the state’s industrial ecosystem.
