Nobel award winning economist Amartya Sen said the Left had given too much focus on distribution of industrial income joining hands with the labour unions.
Nobel award winning economist Amartya Sen today blamed the erstwhile Left Front government for driving away large industries from West Bengal.
"In political terms, I am very much on the Left. But, the Left has done a wrong here. It has driven away large industries from the state," Mr Sen said at the Kolkata Literary Meet in Kolkata.
He said the Left had given too much focus on distribution of industrial income joining hands with the labour unions.
"This resulted in large industries going away and only small Industries remaining. You may get into a situation like this if there is too much focus on distribution," Mr Sen said.
He said earlier 18 flights used to operate from Kolkata to London.
"Now there is not a single flight to any European city. One has to go either to Dubai, Doha or Abu Dhabi and proceed. I would say that pragmatism was not there," he said.
On an advisory note, Mr Sen said "What can be done now, can be done now. What cannot be done, cannot be forgotten. There has to be sequential planning and not spot planning."