West Bengal will regain lost glory: Pranab Mukherjee

Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee today expressed confidence that West Bengal would regain its "lost glory" and respect despite having fallen behind in many aspects since Independence.    "I am confident that although the state has temporarily fallen behind somewhat, it will regain its lost glory and earn its due respect," Mukherjee said while speaking against the motion at a debate on What India Can Do Today, Bengal Cannot, organised here by a Bengali magazine.     He said it was no mean achievement for West Bengal to be the largest jute producer in the country despite having lost its pre-eminent position in the sector after the partition of India. "The future of jute is bright."    Mukherjee pointed out that the three-tier Panchayati Raj system was conceptualised by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on the lines of a similar system existing in West Bengal then.    "People of this state had realised that democracy cannot be strengthened only through the Parliament or the Assemblies, but that a strong panchayat system is also needed to take democracy to the grassroots," he said. Mukherjee, whose panel also included Bengali writer Tilottama Majumder and band leader Rupam Islam, said although communal violence was witnessed in many parts of the country, West Bengal had remained free from this evil.    "It is not that there was no communal feeling after Partition. But the state remained free from communal violence. Whenever the situation turned towards violence, politicians cutting across party lines, along with intellectuals, came forward to quell it," he said.Reacting to a criticisim from a speaker for the motion that students in the state fared badly in both English and Bengali owing to a poor educational system, Mukherjee said he had to arrange for short English courses for some officers of his department as he could not understand their file notings written in unintelligible English.    "And mind you, these officers are not only from West Bengal. They are from all over the country," he said.    Those who spoke for the motion included scientist Partha Ghosh, professor of English Chaitali Moitra and entrepreneur Anjan Chatterjee.Later, the motion 'What India Can Do Today, Bengal Cannot', was carried by voice votes.