Didi recalls 14-day Singur stir against ‘forced’ land acquisition by Left govt
KOLKATA: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday recalled how the people of Singur had extended all possible cooperation to her during her 14-day dharna on the national highway which led to the relocation of the Tata Motors’ Nano car project.
She also alleged that a conspiracy was hatched against her, with a speeding truck being sent down the highway to a spot near the dharna venue where more than 100 people were sleeping. Banerjee, however, preferred to maintain silence on the issue of the Tata project’s departure from Singur.
"I was on hunger strike for 26 days in Kolkata and staged a sit-in-demonstration for 14 days in Singur protesting the forcible acquisition of land by the then state government. During the dharna in Singur, people used to visit me with vegetables like potato and pointed gourd. They also offered me home-made snacks. One day, a speeding truck was sent to mow down 100 of supporters who were sleeping on the highway. It was a conspiracy to stop me," she said while addressing a rally in Singur from where she laid foundation stone of two road projects.
Mamata also slammed the then Left Front government in power in West Bengal, saying, “They accused me of price hike because tracks were stranded on the highway near Singur. Then why did prices keep rising after the dharna was withdrawn?” Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress came to power after dislodging the Left Front’s 32-year regime in 2011 on the back of the anti-land acquisition movement in Singur, located in Hooghly district.
In an event in 2022, the Bengal CM had held the CPI(M), the main ally of the Left Front, responsible for driving out the Tata Motors project from Singur. Following the agitation, Ratan Tata had announced in October, 2008 that the project would be relocated to Gujarat from Singur. Armed with an apex court order, Mamata returned the land, acquired for the project, to the farmers of Singur. However, the area is still lying unused as cultivation is not possible because of concrete flooring of the factory which was on the cusp of starting production.
Elaborating on her government’s contributions to the area, Mamata said an industrial park was set up in the area and the government helped the potato farmers by procuring the produce directly from them. She also said the state’s initiative to preserve heritage structures which have both historical and religious significance.