By IANS,
New Delhi : Even as Tatas threatened to pull out of Singur, the Congress Wednesday blamed the company for not taking the initiative to bring farmers on board on the issue of land acquisition for Nano plant in West Bengal.
“The Tatas should have taken the initiative to bridge the gap with local farmers, whose land was taken for setting up the Singur plant, (but) that has not been done,” said Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari.
“The West Bengal government and the Tatas collectively share the responsibility for the current crisis in Singur,” said Tiwari.
Tata Motors Tuesday said that it was ready to pull out from Singur in West Bengal, where its plant to produce the world’s cheapest car Nano has remained closed since Friday following protests led by Trinamool Congress (TMC) and farmers.
“In view of the current situation, the company is evaluating alternate options for manufacturing the Nano car at other company facilities and a detailed plan to relocate the plant and machinery to an alternate site is under preparation,” a company statement had stated.
However, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had urged Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi to facilitate the government’s dialogue with opposition TMC leader Mamata Banerjee to break the deadlock.
Lauding Gandhi, Tiwari said: “He has taken a great initiative to find a solution to the problem.”
On Bihar floods, the Congress demanded setting up of an all-party monitoring committee to ensure proper distribution of relief material in the affected areas.
“The relief material is not reaching the people on the ground. We demand that an all- party monitoring committee be set up to oversee everything from procurement to rehabilitation,” said Tiwari.
He also demanded setting up of an inquiry committee to investigate reports of negligence in repair of embankments that led Kosi river to change its course and cause floods.