Four decades after leaving Kolkata, the Birlas may be coming back for more
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Four decades after leaving Kolkata, the Birlas may be coming back for more")
Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla with Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya
Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya wrote to Birla, asking the group to expand in Bengal and pointing to the government's efforts to create an investment-friendly environment.
In 1978, Aditya Vikram Birla was allegedly forced out of his car near the Reserve Bank of India's Kolkata branch and made to walk to his office, a moment that came to symbolise Bengal's industrial troubles. He moved his offices to Mumbai to escape labour unrest and frequent gheraos. Now, his family's conglomerate appears ready to look at the state again.
Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla held an extensive meeting with Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya on Sunday. He is scheduled to meet chief minister Suvendu Adhikari at Nabanna on Monday.
"He will invest more in this state... He is also looking into the possibility of expanding his existing operations in Bengal," Bhattacharya said after the meeting.
The talks followed a letter Bhattacharya wrote to Birla after the BJP took office, asking the group to expand in Bengal and pointing to the government's efforts to create an investment-friendly environment.
Bhattacharya has previously criticised what he called "militant trade unionism" in the state. The 1978 episode was followed by an exodus of other industrial houses, including the Singhanias and Thapars, who moved their headquarters to Delhi and other states. The Aditya Birla Group, however, never fully left and retained an operational presence in Bengal.
"CITU had driven Aditya Birla out of Bengal... However, the family did not lose their affection for the state," Bhattacharya said, describing the interaction as "very positive".
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In a post on X, he said the discussions covered Bengal's industrial potential, geographical advantages, skilled human resources, ports and communication infrastructure.
Earlier in the day, Bhattacharya visited ONGC's oilfield at Ashoknagar in North 24 Parganas, where he assured officials of zero political interference from any BJP worker, MP or MLA. "There is no scope for politics over mineral resources," he said, according to his remarks at the site.
He alleged that the previous state government had not cooperated, claiming the petroleum minister had sent 19 letters to the former chief minister about the Petroleum Mining Leases needed for extraction, without response.
Commercial crude production began at the Baigachhi oilfield on Aug 28, with the first 12,000-litre consignment sent to the Haldia refinery. Bhattacharya also pointed to gas exploration in Ranaghat and offshore oil exploration in the Bay of Bengal.
"Political vendetta had compromised the country's energy security for so long," he said.
