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Mamta Banerjee in a tight spot as Singur farmers call for ending stir
Farmers oppose Mamta Banerjee's stir against Tata's Singur plant.
BY OUR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT
December 28, 2006
End stir, work towards giving us a better future. Mamta Banerjee has a new problem to grapple with. Even as Mamta Banerjee continued her hunger strike urging the West Bengal government fulfilled her demand to discontinue land acquisition for the Tata project at Singur, farmers, who handed over their lands for the setting up of a car plant appealed to Trinamool Congress leader to end her hunger strike.
The farmers assembled near the spot where Mamta Banerjee is on fast. They urged her to work towards ensuring them a better future. They said in an open letter to Banerjee that they were satisfied with the financial compensation provided to them by the West Bengal Government for the land they had handed over voluntarily.
The letter said: "If you continue your hunger strike, it will only worsen our hurt. If your protests are aimed at ensuring our well-being, we request you to call off your hunger strike soon and cooperate towards setting up the Tata Motors project at Singur.”
However, the appeal seems to have fallen into deaf ears with Mamta Banerjee unrelenting. In a letter to Banerjee, State Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi renewed his appeal to call off her hunger strike.Urging her to end her fast and authorise her representative to commence dialogue with the Government, the Governor wanted the Trinamool Congress leader and other protestors to direct their energy towards evolving long-term norms for land-use and land conversion in a State where agriculture is paramount and industrialisation is also imperative.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said that representatives of the Tata group were now going ahead with the work on the Singur plant. Technical matters related to the setting up of the plant were discussed by officials of the Tata Motors and the State departments concerned.
In a related development, CPM polit buro member Brinda Karat has lambasted Mamta Banerjee’s hunger strike questioning the purpose of the stir. According to Brinda the main issue is for whom is she on a hunger strike, when the very people she claims to be speaking for say that they have willingly handed over their plots for the project.
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