At a time when West Bengal’s relationship with the Centre is as its worst, President Pranab Mukherjee spoke of “cooperative federalism” for overall development. The centre cannot grow on its own without the support of states, he said.

“When I was sent the invitation to attend the meet, I thought whether it will be proper to do that as President of the republic. But I felt that as India has cooperative federalism, it lays on the strength of every state. India’s strength lies in cooperative federalism, especially when it comes to economic development,” he said at the third edition of the Bengal Global Business Summit in Kolkata.

Pointing out that every state is important in the nation’s context, Mukherjee recounted West Bengal’s past glory and said that besides the effects of Partition, the state also had to suffer hindered growth due to “unfortunate circumstances and conditions”.