Didi all praise for Modi’s Gujarat

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday lauded the Gujarat model of development, without naming Chief Minister Narendra Modi, but added that she wanted "a more democratic environment" in her state that would accommodate different voices. She also said that politics of bandhs and strikes come in the way of development.

Inaugurating state handicrafts fair on Saturday, Mamata said that in "Gujarat there is no problem, no politics, all Gujaratis are united as far as work is concerned and in election there's only one party". "In West Bengal we want more democracy, more rallies and meetings, but bandhs and strikes must not come in the way of development and work," she said. She complained that some people were calling bandhs and strikes only to derail development. She claimed that the loss of mandays had drastically come down to just 60,000 last year from 67 lakh in 2010.

Attacking those who allege that TMC workers indulge in extortion, she said her party does not want "money to fight election". "We do not need to fill up TMC's coffers with government money and 'cut' money. We collect small amount from people to fight election," she asserted.

The CM urged industrialists to explore opportunities in small and medium scale sectors. "Handicrafts, small and medium scale industries were neglected for so many years. There was complete loot in the state-owned Manjushree, Manjusha. I want large markets for handicrafts as well as heavy industries like cement, iron and steel," the CM said.

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