Kolkata, August 26
Mamata Banerjee’s demand for return of 400 acres handed over to Tata Motors, to farmers is absurd, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said today, even as Mamata threatened that Tata Motors’ Nano car would never roll out from Singur if her demand was not conceded to. The Chief Minister was speaking at an interactive session with industrialists organised by the Associated Chambers of Commerce here today.

The Chief Minister said the Singur issue was an isolated event and it did not have any bearing on the state’s present rapid industrialisation programme with private and corporate investments. He assured the industrialists that in future none of them would face problems in the state that Ratan Tata was facing at Singur. He hoped the Singur problem would be resolved soon.

Bhattacharjee admitted that Tata Motors had been given some special incentives for its investment on the small car project, which he initially decided to set up in Uttarakhand. He denied there had been any irregularity in acquiring lands at Singur for Tata Motors.

On the other hand, on the third day of their agitation, Mamata declared at the dharna site today that there would be a “chakka jam” in the city on Friday and in all districts between 3 pm and 5 pm as part of their decision to spread the agitation throughout the state.

Today, there were demonstrations in front of the Writers Building and other places in the city and south 24 Parganas, where a large number of people took part. Some drunken people, alleged to be CPM supporters, attacked a dharna last night, but they fled when they were chased. However, two of them were caught and handed over to the police, said Mamata.

Threatening that Tata Motors’ Nano car would never roll out from Singur if her demand for the return of 400 acres was not conceded, she held the Chief Minister responsible for the stalemate.

“Nano rolls out or agriculture will stay; else Nano ceases to roll out but agriculture will stay,” Mamata told her party workers at the dharna.

Mamata warned the Chief Minister against spreading a false propaganda and asked him to return forcibly acquired lands to the poor landless farmers.

The Imam of Nakhodha Mosque was at the dharna today and he assured Mamata of all help and support of the Muslims. Lawyers of the Calcutta High Court and the Alipore Court were also present at the dharna for lending support to the farmers’ movement. The representatives of various voluntary and social welfare organisations also extended their support to the movement.

Though around 110 regular employees of the company attended duty at the Singur plant today as they were transported by specially requisitioned buses, the majority of contract workers at the plant did not turn up. Some workers also left Singur as they had no works for them. But some others voluntarily left the job to support the affected farmers, claimed Mamata. The vehicular movement on the Durgapur highway remained suspended for the third day, creating a deadlock in the trans-shipment of foodgrains, medicines and other essential goods.

State home secretary A.M. Chakraborty told mediapersons at the Writers Buildings that he had sent the District Magistrate of Hooghly district to Mamata Banerjee with a request to withdraw blockade on the highway and allow stranded trucks and other heavy vehicles to move. However, Mamata turned down his request.