West Bengal Invites Aditya Birla Group to Invest After Decades Away
Times of India | 2 July 2026
Kolkata: Almost five decades after industrialist Aditya Birla was forced to leave Bengal and relocate to Mumbai in the face of labour unrest, Bengal govt has requested the Birlas to invest in the state.
Saying that he was hopeful of the Aditya Birla Group’s investment in Bengal, state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said, “We still remember how Aditya Birla was forced to leave Bengal. We have requested the group to come to Bengal. They will start afresh.” Bhattacharya was addressing a gathering at an event titled ‘Business Opportunity Platform’ on Wednesday.
Bhattacharya recounted the infamous 1978 incident when Aditya Birla was allegedly forced to get out of his car near the Reserve Bank of India office in Kolkata and forced to walk to his workplace. As he decided to relocate to Mumbai to protect and expand his business, other industrialists like the Singhanias and the Thapars also relocated, shifting their headquarters. Despite the mass exodus, however, the Aditya Birla Group retained an operational presence in Bengal.
“Militant trade unionism has long been a big obstacle for businesses in the state,” Bhattacharya said as he also touched upon the Singur land movement after which Tata Motors decided to leave Bengal and relocate its Nano plant to Gujarat. “Singur and Nandigram had sent a signal that Bengal is not an industry-friendly state,” he said.
“Former CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharya wanted to bring red-tapism to an end, and aid industry growth. But he was unsuccessful. In Bengal, we have had party-led govts for a long time,” Bhattacharya said as he pointed to the apprehension among businesses across India about party control. “In the past month, industrialists have contacted me first before approaching the govt. Industrialists have a mindset that the party pulls back the govt. This is a dangerous sign. We want to break that,” Bhattacharya said.
Focusing on the need to bring heavy industries to Bengal, Bhattacharya said only MSMEs cannot sustain the state’s economy. “Ancillary industries and MSMEs need heavy industry to survive. Our youths have proved themselves outside the state, but we could not provide a global platform to them,” the BJP state chief said. He went on to add that the state also needs to increase exports.