Kolkata:
Ratan Tata today reacted sharply to West Bengal Minister Amit Mitra's comment that he appears to have "lost his mind", in response to his apparent critique of industrial development in the state.
In a statement, Mr Tata said he "never spoke of industrial development" and called Dr Mitra's anger needless and surprising.
"Mr Mitra might believe I have lost my mind. I would be delighted if he could show me what industrial development projects I missed while driving through Rajarhat. If he cannot, then I would have to conclude that he has a very fertile imagination," said the 73-year-old Chairman Emeritus of the Tata Group.
Similar remarks by the top industrialist on Wednesday had rattled the state Finance Minister so much that he had said, "Onar motibhrom hoyeche (Maybe he has lost his mind). Maybe he hasn't got the information."
Dr Mitra listed investments by Tata Group companies like TCS, or Tata Consultancy Services, and Tata Metalicks. "If I give you a list, it will take all day. Perhaps (Mr Tata) should concentrate on his other hobbies like flying planes," he said disparagingly, hours after Mr Tata shared his bitter experience in Singur, where a farmers' agitation backed by Mamata Banerjee forced him to shift a Tata Nano plant to Sanand in Gujarat.
At an interaction in Kolkata, Mr Tata said shifting the Nano plant in 2008 was a good decision and he would do it again.
"If you hold a gun to my head, you can pull the trigger or take the gun away. But the head will not move," he joked, repeating the words he used when he shifted the plant.
Three years after the Singur row, Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress took power in Bengal with a massive mandate.
Asked whether he had noticed any changes since then, Mr Tata replied that while driving through a Kolkata suburb, he noticed "unbelievable change in terms of buildings and development. But it still looks like a countryside under development. We don't see that much sign of industrial development."