Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee today (Dec 30, 2003) said that migrant population of poor people from the adjacent States and even from adjoining neighbouring countries like Bangladesh and Nepal were adding to the problems of the State.

''I do not favour provincialism, but there would not have been much problem in our State if we did not have a crowd of poor people pouring in from other States and even some neighbouring countries like Bangladesh and Nepal,'' he said while inaugurating a seminar on rural employment generation, organised by the West Bengal Khadi Board and the Khadi and Village Industries Commission.

Lambasting Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for his observation that unemployment was increasing in West Bengal, Bhattacharjee said, ''Is everything all right with Sri Vajpayee's constituency Lucknow?''

Pointing out that West Bengal's growth in agriculture and industry was above that of the national average, he said that while stress was now being given on agro-based industries following the State's self-sufficiency in agriculture, industrial investment in the State currently stood at Rs 2,000 crore.

In spite of the closure of a number of Central PSUs (public sector undertakings) in the textiles, jute and coal sector, employment opportunities for 16,000 people have been created in the IT industry and for 20,000 in the downstream industries of Haldia Petrochemicals, the Chief Minister said.