The piece was originally published on 7 August 2014, when a war of words broke out between Mamata Banerjee and Ratan Tata.
Editor's Note: The piece was originally published on 7 August 2014. In light of the SC verdict asking Tata Motors to return the land to farmers on August 31, 2016, we are republishing the piece.
The bitter acrimony which started in 2007 between West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and industrialist Ratan Tata has found its way back to the forefront. At the time, Tata was forced to abandon setting up shop in the state and Mamata rode on the high of the Singur and Nandigram agitation to win an unprecedented mandate. This time, an assessment by Ratan Tata that the industry hasn't developed in Bengal under Mamata's rule has been the trigger of confrontation. And Amit Mitra, the industry and finance minister of West Bengal is busy proxy fighting for Banerjee calling Ratan Tata "delusional".
On Wednesday, Ratan Tata reportedly blamed the Singur agitation for the failure of his Tata Nano project. But just last year, he had said poor marketing resulted in the dismal performance of his much touted car. Still smarting from the massive loss he had to face in Singur while confronting the agitation lead by Mamata Banerjee, looks like he himself is confused about the true reason why the Nano failed to create a flutter in the market. His blunt assessment of West Bengal's industry is probably an outburst from his deep seated anger about the issue. Tata had recently heaped lavish praise on Narendra Modi as a “doer”. But he has never criticised the poor human development indices in Gujarat or other lacunae the state faces. So it looks like his personal equation is having an effect on his public assertion, something unbecoming of a person of his stature.
The Bengal government in its part has also been extremely rigid with land acquisition rules. Didi is still in an agitation mode like she was in the opposition. Thus, any criticism or dissent is promptly quelled by her. The deficits have steadily increased and the industrialisation is still laggard - something that touches a raw nerve in the ruling class of Bengal. Responding to Ratan Tata's quip could have been avoided by Mamata or her ministers. By personally attacking Tata, TMC will only attract negative publicity and will increase scrutiny on the lack of infrastructure and the poor economic condition of the state. It will further erode the already depleted “Brand Bengal” Mamata prefers to boast about.
But in the middle of all this, the common people of Bengal are the ones who end up getting a raw deal. By raising rhetoric against Tata, Mamata can further concentrate her rural votes. Tata in any case will be immune to all criticism. But Bengal's status as a pariah state for industrialists will increase further. The best and the brightest will continue to migrate out of the state for jobs and livelihood. Politics will triumph at the altar of common sense.
Epilogue: On August 31, 2016 the war between Tata and Banerjee finaly reached its culmination which saw SC void the deal between Tatas and the Left government .
Mamata said to the media: “I am remembering those people who made sacrifices fighting for this. This is a landmark victory after we thought of the new name for State of West Bengal. Very happy with the decision. I would expect everyone to celebrate this Singur Utsav, it’s like an invocation of the celebration to Durga Puja. I had dreamt of this SC verdict for so long, for the people of Singur. Now I can die in peace. West Bengal is the final industrial destination, keep that in mind."
Tata Motors said it would study the Supreme Court judgement on Singur in detail before commenting on it. "This case in which the judgement was delivered today related to the acquisition of land by the state government (read West Bengal government) before it was leased to Tata Motors," the company said in a statement.
It further said "Our case relating to the Singur Act of 2011 is yet to be heard by Supreme Court. We will study today's judgement in detail before commenting further on the same."
The Supreme Court division bench headed by Justices Arun Mishra and V Gopala Gowda said that land acquisition process for Tata Motors at Singur was faulty and did not fall within the purview of public purpose.
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