Thaindian News

New Delhi, Dec 22 (IANS) The violent movement against a special economic zone (SEZ) in Nandigram in West Bengal in 2007 and subsequent scrapping of the project were cited by visiting Indonesian MPs as major impediments against investing in India.

A four-member delegation of the Indonesian House of Representatives told their interlocutors, that included former Indian diplomats, Wednesday evening that the Indonesia-based Salim Group, which was to invest in Nandigram, had to withdraw from the project.

They were speaking at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) at Sapru House here.

The refrain of the Indonesian MPs delegation led by Andi Anzhar Chakra Wijaya, and comprising M. Gamari Sutrisno, Sonny Waplau and I. Gusti Ketur Adhiputra, all of whom are businessmen, was that investments from their country would come provided the atmosphere in India was not reflective of the mood witnessed in Nandigram and the incidents thereafter.

The violent Nandigram agitation March 14, 2007, following the then Left Front government’s announcement of the Salim Group promoting the SEZ, resulted in the death of 14 people and injury to 70 in a police firing. Later that year, the project was scrapped and the Salim Group withdrew its investment in October 2009 after the promised alternative site was never given by the West Bengal government.

The views of the MPs were backed by Indonesian Ambassador to India,l Lt. Gen. Andi M. Ghalib.

The MPs’ reaction was triggered by a query from former Indian ambassador to Indonesia Navrekha Sharma, who wanted to know why Indonesian companies were not forthcoming in investing in India, as a reciprocal effort to Indian investments in their country.

The two nations currently enjoy annual bilateral trade of about $14 billion that has in fact tripled in the last decade.

The Indonesian MPs were also keen to learn about India’s anti-corruption movement and its evolving institutions to combat graft.

“Indonesia scores a low in the corruption index. We do not have a vigilance commission. Corruption adversely impacts our economic growth. How do you handle corruption in India?” was the query of the Indonesian delegation’s head Wijaya.

Indonesia stood at 100 out of 183 nations in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for 2011 released by Transparency International earlier this month with a score of 3, where 10 indicates a corruption-free society. India stood at 95 with a score of 3.1.

In response to his query, former Indian ambassador to Indonesia S. Bhutani told the delegation that corruption is “a sensitive” issue in India at present.

He suggested Indonesia should evolve its own mechanism to deal with their problem suitable to its domestic needs, but a strong public sentiment against corruption, free media to mobilise public opinion against corruption and institutions to combat it were needed.

M. Gamari Sutrisno said his country had all of these three pre-requisites, yet corruption has not been weeded out.

Former foreign secretary Shyam Sharan called for greater strategic partnership in geopolitics, security and climate change, apart from protecting the sea lanes of communication in the Indian Ocean, and cooperation in international fora such as G20, East Asia Summit, Non Aligned Movement and Asean Plus Defence Ministers Meet.

Ambassador Ghalib said India is a “big brother”, whom his nation looks up to. He called for India to lead the world at the time of the current economic crisis.

ICWA director general Sudhir T. Devare who chaired the meet said the onset of democracy in Indonesia and the strengthening of its democratic institutions augured well for not only Indonesians but also to other nations in Asia and around the world.