By IANS,
Kolkata : In an apparent climbdown, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said Monday evening her party wants work to resume at the Tata Motors’ Nano plant at Singur, but after excluding the controversial 400 acre acquired farmland.
She also said she ready for talks with the West Bengal government for a way out of the impasse over farmland acquisition.
“We want work to resume at the Tata Motors plant soon because we don’t want the poor workers to suffer. But the plant should be set up excluding the 400 acre farmland acquired from the unwilling farmers,” Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee said addressing protesters at Singur, 40 km from here.
Banerjee said: “Our agitation is not against industrialisation but for the rights of the farmers. We too understand the benefits of industries but priority must always be given to the farmers who provide us with food for sustenance.”
The Trinamool chief said she is ready for talks with the state government to solve the row over farmland acquisition.
“Why only the state government, I am ready to sit at the discussion table with anyone to sort out the issue. I have also requested Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi to take the initiative. But the 400 acre farmland must be returned to the farmers,” Banerjee said.
More than 997 acres of land was acquired for the Tata small car project in Singur of which 691.66 acres belonged to farmers who gave their land willingly.
Nano is priced at Rs.100,000 (about $2,500). The car is scheduled to roll out from the Tata stable in October.