2,227 Companies Left Bengal In Last 5 Years For Other States: Centre In Parliament

Last Updated:December 03, 2024, 23:33 IST

Steering clear of any outright controversy, the Centre still mentioned in passing that these companies gave "administrative, operational, convenience, cost-effectiveness" as reasons to relocate

To a question posed by BJP MP Samik Bhattacharya in the Rajya Sabha during the ongoing winter session, the Centre replied that between 2019 and 2024, a total of 2,227 companies had left West Bengal. (Image: PTI/File)

A routine question by a first-time BJP MP, whose answer would otherwise be considered a regular statistic, has the potential to embarrass the Mamata Banerjee-led government in West Bengal and give the opposition in the state fresh ammo.

The opposition BJP in West Bengal has routinely alleged that the current regime in the state is “anti-industry". To a parliamentary question posed by the BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP, Samik Bhattacharya, on Tuesday, the central government is scheduled to reply that between 2019 and 2024, as many as 2,227 companies had left West Bengal for better opportunities in other states.

Union minister of state for corporate affairs, Harsh Malhotra said out of this vast majority of companies that the Centre said “shifted their registered office from the state of West Bengal to other states", 39 are listed. These are engaged in manufacturing, financing, commission agents, and trading among others, he said.

While Bhattacharya sought to know the reason for departure, the government steered clear of any controversy citing rules allowing companies to migrate. It, however, mentioned in passing that these companies gave “administrative, operational, convenience, cost-effectiveness" as some of the reasons to relocate.

While it should be mentioned that the Covid-19 outbreak hit in 2020, when the economy came to a standstill, it took at least another year for it to fully recover from the lull. But, it is not certain how much, if any, this has contributed to more than 2,000 companies leaving Bengal in the last five years for greener pastures.

“One thing is for sure that there is a continuous capital flow outwards of Bengal and the powers that be in the state have been unable to check it," Bhattacharya told News18.

News politics '2,227 Companies Left Bengal In Last 5 Years For Other States': Centre In Parliament