Calcutta, Jan. 8: Arvind Kejriwal, chief minister of Delhi, today charmed the audience at the Global Bengal Business Summit empathising with the business community for the problems they face every day.
" Iss desh ke andar business karna kitna muskil hai! Nani yaad aajati hai, (Doing business is so difficult in this country. You are forced to remember your maternal grandmother)," said Kejriwal, an ally in Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's federal front of regional parties.
"Without giving money, no work gets done... Work is not done even after paying money. How do you people conduct business?" he asked.
There was a roar of laughter, followed by a huge round of applause, which indicated that he could touch the chord with the audience and he built on that by promising a slew of sops - including a cut in the VAT rates - and procedural simplification for potential investors in Delhi.
The invite to Kejriwal for the programme had raised a few eyebrows as the activist-turned-politician had often attacked some of the richest Indians, including Mukesh Ambani of the Reliance Industries, with whom he shared the dais today, besides accusing a part of corporate India of exploiting common man.
He had another unlikely company at the dais - Union finance minister Arun Jaitley, with whom the Delhi CM is engaged in a bitter battle over malpractice in Delhi District Cricket Association.
Sources close to Mamata had, however, said before today's meet that the participation of the Delhi chief minister was part of Mamata's plan to project herself as a key player in a federal front of regional parties. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar was also invited at the meet, but he could not turn up and sent a senior minister as his representative.
Probably because of the political intent behind the show, the summit had a heavy presence of politicians on the dais, ranging from central and state ministers to Trinamul MPs and even the mayor of Calcutta. Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Bangladesh commerce minister Tofayel Ahmed and the British minister for employment Priti Patel were also present.
Similar investment summits in other parts of the country - be it in Gujarat and Rajasthan - do not have such high presence of politicians on the dais as the focus remains exclusively on business.
"These people were invited not only to lift the status of the summit, but also to show the chief minister's ability to get senior politicians from other states and even countries," said an aide of Mamata.
But when Kejriwal, whose presence was billed as a political move, rose to speak, he tried his best to hardsell the prospect of Delhi as an investment destination.
"The wearer knows where the shoe pinches... You tell me what the problems are and I will solve them," said the Delhi chief minister, explaining how he got the time for clearances for any event from three to four months to just twenty minutes.
"For any event in Delhi, there used to be requirement of twenty seven clearances and the last one from the fire department would be given only an hour before the programme. Because of that, the fire department officers could ask for anything and they would get it. But that has changed," he said.
The statements from Kejriwal did make an impact as some of the businessmen this correspondent spoke to after the day's programme said they were "impressed" with the Delhi chief minister, as he sounded "practical".
Not just Kejriwal, both Tobgay and Ahmed used the platform provided by Mamata to woo investments in their own way. If Bangladesh's Ahmed was dangling the special economic zone carrot - a no in Mamata's Bengal - for Indian companies, Tobgay talked about the clean energy and organic food to invite investment in Bhutan.
There was more than sales pitch in the Day One's programme at the Bengal government's investment summit. Four senior central ministers - finance minister Arun Jaitley, transport, ports and shipping minister Nitin Gadkari, railway minister Suresh Prabhu and power minister Piyush Goyel - used the platform to explain Prime Minister Narendra Modi's agenda of co-operative federalism, a concept that Mamata had underscored in her inaugural address.
"As proud Indians, we all are together... If the state develops, the country also develops. It is a joint venture scheme," said Mamata.
All central ministers elaborated extensively on Modi's agenda of making the states stronger and explaining how they are extending help towards the state besides praising Mamata for her dynamism.
The good words must have been music for the ears of the chief minister, but a Trinamul insider sounded a word of caution. "All these praises from BJP ministers is not good for us ahead of the polls... Besides, it will also get difficult to blame the Centre for step motherly attitude towards the state," said the MLA.
