By IANS,
Kolkata : Defending her demand that Singur farmers be returned 400 acres of their acquired land, West Bengal’s main opposition party Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee Sunday said her party was not opposed to industrialisation in the state. “Neither me nor my party is averse to industrialisation drive in the state. I only demanded the 400 acres which the state government had forcibly acquired from the unwilling farmers in Singur should be returned to them,” Banerjee said at a press conference here.
She said: “I’ve no objection if the state government sets up industries on the rest 600 acres. But, if the government still considers me as a leader for ‘anti-development’, I have nothing to do.”
At a public rally, Banerjee Saturday demanded the 400 acres of land from the state government which were forcibly acquired from the unwilling farmers.
Giving the state government seven days to return the land it had acquired allegedly by force for the Tata Motors’ Nano small car project, Banerjee said farmers should divide the land among themselves if the state failed to give it back.
Indian auto major Tata Motors’ bid to manufacture world’s least expensive Rs.100,000 car from the Singur facility did not succeed after the Trinamool-backed farmers carried out sustained protests against allegedly forcible land acquisition.
Following spiralling protest, the company shifted the project to Sanand in Gujarat in October last year.
The company had invested Rs.15 billion in the project which was to come up on 997.11 acres acquired by the state government.