Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee demanded that the government should take the people's mandate for land acquisition in the state.
BHANGAR (WB): Challenging West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's contention that 96 per cent farmers had voluntarily given their farmland for the Tata Motors' plant at Singur, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Monday demanded that the government should take the people's mandate for land acquisition in the state.
"The government should take the mandate of the people in the state whether they want to give their land for industry or not," Banerjee demanded at a public meeting here in South 24 Parganas referring to land acquisition at Singur and Nandigram.
She said the farmers had not given consent for 400 acres out of the 997 acres required by the Tata's small car project at Singur.
Referring to the Chief Minister's fresh offer of talks, Banerjee said that no discussion was possible with the government keeping Singur aside. She said the government would have to return the land taken away 'forcibly' there.
"Our stand does not change every day. For us Singur is not a closed chapter."
She wanted to know if farmers had voluntarily given their land, why did the government reimpose prohibitory orders at Singur to prevent the people from going there and why was bhoomi puja performed secretly for the Tata project with the area under section 144 CrPC.
"The Chief Minister is saying that farmland will not be acquired forcibly at Nandigram. He is making a false statement," she said claimimg that the land acquisition notice at Nandigram had not been withdrawn yet.
Warning the government against acquiring land without the consent of farmers, the Trinamool supremo said that
Bhattacharjee could not do whatever he liked simply because he was in power. He should make a categorical announcement that land would not be 'acquired forcibly'.
Banerjee said that when she withdrew her hunger strike against 'forcible' land acquisition after 25 days in December, the government had promised that it would hold discussions with her on the Tata project at Singur.
"But instead the government imposed prohibitory orders at Singur and issued notification for land acquisition at Nandigram. Is it called discussion?"
She said that there was no conflict between agriculture and industry, but the state government was creating it.
"We are not against industry, but if the government thinks it will acquire land forcibly, we will not allow it," she said.
The state government, she claimed, had taken land from minorities at Rajarhat for a new township. "Now they are jobless."
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}