Calcutta, July 31: Investments would start flowing into Bengal from different directions, India and Italy, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said today.

Replying to a no-confidence motion tabled by the Trinamul Congress in the Assembly, Bhattacharjee said he was not bothered about whether Gucci — the Italian leather giants — invested in the state. He was confident moneybags will come in from other regions at home and abroad.

“Please have some patience. I am very confident about my Mumbai trip,” the chief minister told the Assembly.

Minutes later, he said his June trip to Italy as the leader of an industry delegation had resulted in at least six agreements on investments in Bengal from that country.

“We don’t care whether Gucci comes to Bengal or not. And, mind you, I was invited to visit the Gucci plant, I did not go on my own. There has been an agreement between the Leather Association in the state and its counterpart in Italy. Major leather companies in Italy will invest in Bengal. There have been agreements in the field of power and food processing as well,” Bhattacharjee said while replying to the Trinamul motion that had the Congress’ support.

The motion lost by division vote on the last day of the budget session.

Bhattacharjee, however, did not miss the opportunity to put across a few points.

He said the government never claimed that Bengal’s economy was surging ahead on the fast track. But he pointed out that the state had its plus points and the Twelfth Finance Commission had acknowledged that.

“The Finance Commission has admitted that our GDP is 7.6 per cent against the national average of 4.4. We are also ahead in agricultural growth and our industrial growth rate is better than the national average. In the past three years, Rs 2,000 crore has been invested in the state on an average. This year, we hope to cross the Rs 2,500-crore mark. We are also ahead in reduction of poverty,” Bhattacharjee said.

He borrowed from the bard to refute leader of Opposition Pankaj Banerjee’s allegations on the CPM’s “terror tactic” during the panchayat polls in May. Bhattacharjee described Banerjee’s speech as “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury but signifying nothing”.

Minister on NBSTC

Transport minister Subhas Chakraborty today told the Assembly that the government had to pay an annual subsidy of Rs 40 crore to the North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC) to run the organisation, reports our Calcutta correspondent

Replying to a call attention by Asit Mitra of the Congress, Chakraborty said it was not true that employees of the NBSTC were not being paid.

“The employees are drawing their salaries every month but they are not getting it on the first day of a month or any other specified date,” he informed.