By IANS,
Kolkata : West Bengal’s ruling Left Front Tuesday welcomed Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi’s initiative to expedite the process of dialogue between the opposition Trinamool Congress and the state government to resolve the Singur land row.
“We welcome the initiative of Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi on the Singur issue. We’ve also decided to organise a state-wide pro-industrialisation campaign at the district level,” state LF chairman Biman Bose told reporters here after discussing the Singur stalemate in a Front meeting.
“The campaign would be targeted to create an awareness among the rural people about the importance of industrialisation in the state,” said Bose, also the state secretary of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).
Bose said all nine LF constituents had agreed that the state government should formulate a sustainable economic rehabilitation package for those whose land was acquired for industry in Singur, about 40 km from here.
“Three LF parties – Communist Party of India (CPI), Forward Bloc (FB) and Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) – have given their proposals in the meeting suggesting a sustainable economic rehabilitation package for Singur farmers. As far as I know, the state government is also looking after the compensation package for the farmers,” he said.
The governor, who had earlier urged Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee to come to the discussion table, appealed to her to seek the help of a mediator who has “no political or industrial affiliations” to resolve the matter.
Trinamool leader Partha Chattopadhyay Monday met Gandhi at the Raj Bhavan here. Chattopadhyay, however, declined to reveal to the media what was discussed.
Talking on an all-party meeting, Bose said: “If an all-party meeting can help to resolve the Singur issue, it can be called by Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.”
Meanwhile, work at Tata Motors’ factory at Singur remained suspended for the fourth consecutive working day Tuesday.
There was no work at the factory on Friday, Saturday and Monday due to an indefinite agitation at the plant site by the Trinamool Congress, which is demanding the return of 400 acres taken for the project from farmers who did not want their land to be acquired.
The plant was closed Sunday, it being a weekly holiday.
More than 997 acres of land was acquired for Tata Motors’ Nano car project in Singur, of which 691.66 acres belonged to farmers who gave their land willingly.
Nano, which has made headlines the world over, is priced at Rs.1,00,000 (about $2,500). The car is scheduled to roll out in October.