Suvendu Adhikari says rebuilding Bengal is his top priority

After taking oath as West Bengal Chief Minister, Suvendu Adhikari said his focus would be on restoring the state’s lost glory in education and culture rather than criticising opponents. He also paid tribute to Rabindranath Tagore on the poet’s birth anniversary

Kolkata: After taking oath as the ninth Chief Minister of West Bengal on Saturday, Suvendu Adhikari chose to be a perfect statesman as he said that since the new Chief Minister his priority is to recuperate the lost glory of the state in areas like education and culture and therefore he had no time now to criticise others.

“Already Bengal had suffered too many losses. The rich culture of West Bengal had been ruined to a great extent. The education sector had collapsed. My responsibility now is to rebuild West Bengal. The responsibilities are mammoth. So right now, I have no time to criticise others,” Adhikari noted while addressing the mediapersons at the ancestral house of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore at Jorasanko in Kolkata.

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He visited Kolkata to pay homage to Rabindranath Tagore on the occasion of the latter’s birth anniversary on Saturday as per the Bengali calendar.

Chief Minister Adhikari also said that as the West Bengal Chief Minister he will refrain from making any controversial statement.

“Those who want to criticise can continue doing that. Let good sense prevail among people, especially those who are still criticising the election results in West Bengal this time,” the Chief Minister added.

He said that he was feeling lucky to take oath as the Chief Minister of West Bengal on a day that coincides with the birth anniversary of Gurudev.

“So before taking responsibility as the Chief Minister, I offered prayers to Gurudev and sought his blessings,” Chief Minister Adhikari added.

According to the Chief Minister, the lines penned by Gurudev — “Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high. Where knowledge is free. Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls” — had always been his source of inspiration.

“I am confident West Bengal, now will move towards the path of progress, development and fulfilment,” CM Adhikari said.