West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday wrote to Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Suman Bery, seeking an apology from the institution after alleging that a report by the Centre's official policy think-tank misrepresented the map of West Bengal.
She said that the report Summary Report for the State of West Bengal, available on the Niti Aayog web site, depicted the territory of Bihar as that of West Bengal.
'Such a grave lapse in an official document of a premier national institution is not merely a technical error but an affront to the identity and dignity of West Bengal. Such a blunder in an official publication reflects an alarming lack of diligence and respect towards the states of the Union,' Banerjee wrote in her letter.
The West Bengal CM said that the issue raised legitimate concerns about the rigor and reliability of Niti Aayog's work.
'The government of West Bengal strongly condemns this inaccuracy and calls upon Niti Aayog to issue a clarification and apology, and take immediate corrective action to rectify the document and to institute robust mechanisms to prevent such lapses in the future,' she wrote.
Banerjee said that the error casts doubt on the reliability of reports and publications on the Aayog.
As on Wednesday evening, the Web link cited by Banerjee did not show any such available report. Queries sent to Niti Aayog on the issue remained unanswered at the time of publishing this report.
Meanwhile, Tata Group Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran on Wednesday called on Mamata Banerjee at the secretariat to explore opportunities in the state.
In a post on X, the Trinamool Congress, the party Banerjee leads, said she hosted Chandrasekaran for a dialogue on West Bengals industrial growth.
The meeting reflected the states commitment to fostering public-private partnerships that drive innovation, investment, and inclusive development, it added.
The ruling party also said their conversation centred on deepening the Tata groups presence in the state.
This meeting is a first between a Tata group chairman and Banerjee as chief minister.
In 2008, Banerjee, then in the Opposition, led a sustained movement against Tata Motors' Nano project in Singur, south West Bengal. The project later moved to Gujarat.
At the Bengal Global Business Summit, held in February, Banerjee had said in her speech the Tata group chairman could not make it to the summit owing to certain exigencies.
Banerjee had a detailed discussion with him on the eve of the summit. 'He has assured (me) that they want to invest more and more in Bengal. And he will come to Bengal very soon and discuss (things) in detail,' she had said then.
Banerjee had even requested a direct Air India flight connecting Kolkata with Europe.
It is widely believed that the Singur episode influenced the West Bengal assembly elections in 2011, when the Trinamool Congress swept to power, ending 34 years of Left Front rule.
The Tata group, however, continued with its businesses in West Bengal such as those of Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Steel and Tata Hitachi. TCS, which has a significant presence in New Town, Rajarhat, has taken up 20 acres at the Bengal Silicon Valley, the upcoming tech hub.
Banerjee had posted on X that the New Town Kolkata Development Authority had sanctioned the Phase-I building plan for the TCS office campus at the Bengal Silicon Valley.
In the first phase 900,000 square feet of 'world-class infrastructure', including an 11-storey office tower, will be developed, creating employment for 5,000 people.
The second phase will add another 1.5 million square feet, generating 20,000 more jobs, she had posted on X. --
Business Standard, with inputs from Ishita Ayan Dutt
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