Statesman News Service
KOLKATA, Sept. 25: With chief minister Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee admitting to his Cabinet colleagues there is not even a ghost of a chance of the Tata Motors’ small car project at Singur taking off, the state government today make a desperate last minute effort to save the project. The state Cabinet, which met today, issued a rather unusual statement urging the Tatas to stay back.
“The chances of the Tata Motors continuing with the project are now nil. In view of the current situation they have refused to work with police protection,” Mr Bhattacharjee reportedly told the Cabinet when the fisheries minister, Mr Kironmoy Nanda, asked the chief minister about the latest developments in Singur towards the end of the customary monthly meeting.
The chief minister's statement prompted intense deliberations among the Cabinet members on what can be done to save the project. The higher education minister, Prof. Sudarshan Raichaudhuri, proposed that the state government should reach out to the people on the issue. Later, a statement was drafted which said: “The members of state Cabinet appealed to the Tata Motors not to shift their project from West Bengal, assuring them of full support and cooperation.”
They also urged the Opposition to accept the special package announced by the state government and help in implementing it. The Cabinet expressed its concern to the people of Singur and the state as well.
On the other hand, the Governor Mr Gopalkrishna Gandhi today said the state's people wanted a solution to the Singur land acquisition problem. He was addressing the annual general meeting of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “People of the state want a solution to the Singur issue. They desire and deserve a solution. Moreover, people have confidence in those who are dealing with the issue,” Mr Gandhi said.
He added that “change in every field of life is essential for growth and development of the country.” The Governor's comments came a day after his veiled criticism of the Left Front government for its handling of the Singur issue.
Though there was still no word from the Tatas, their intentions, with machinery being moved out of the Singur plant, seem pretty obvious now, barring, of course, a last-minute deal.
While Mr Ratan Tata has written to the chief ministers of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh stating that TML is looking for alternatives to Singur, and a 1000-acre lease, the company is yet to decide on manufacturing the Nano from Pantnagar.
Uttarakhand chief secretary Mr IK Pande said today “We asked, but company officials said no decision has yet been taken.”
Trinamul Congress chief Miss Mamata Banerjee, meanwhile, has countered the CPI-M contention that the Raj Bhavan accord was but an announcement of intent of the state government.
She said the prolonged talks at Raj Bhavan on 7 September had culminated in an agreement, though the state government went back on its word and scuttled the small car project.
Miss Banerjee said: “We don’t want the Tatas to move out. It's the CPI-M which doesn't want that both industry and agriculture should flourish in the state.”
She was speaking at a rally organised by Trinamul Congress-led Progressive Secular Democratic Front (PSDF) to observe Singur Day.
“We have proposed that Singur should be a model village where both industry and agriculture would thrive together. But the state government by unilaterally declaring the package has violated the Raj Bhavan accord which was duly signed by the state industries minister and the Leader of the Opposition,'' Miss Banerjee said.
She appealed to the government to “operationalise'' the Raj Bhavan accord as early as possible if “they are serious about industrialisation in the state”.
Mr Samir Patutundu, PDS leader and member of Krishi Jomi Jiban Jibika Raksha Committee, said the Tatas won't move out and that the pull out threat was but “a political gimmick” by the CPI-M to pressure the Opposition.
“Nano will roll out from Pantnagar to meet the deadline. The Tatas are just biding their time as there are legal complications on Singur land,” he said.
Mr Biman Bose, CPI-M state secretary said it would be a great loss for the state, including the people of Singur, if the Tatas move out.
He said the “unholy forces that are directly and indirectly creating obstacles for the project don’t want the state’s development.” “The real intent of these forces”, he said, would have to be exposed and a movement launched “without being provoked by the forces of chaos.” (END) Source : The Statesman
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