By IANS,
Kolkata : West Bengal’s principal opposition party, the Trinamool Congress, Friday accused supporters of the ruling Left Front government of forcing farmers to accept the compensation package for land acquired for Tata’s Nano small car project in Singur.
According to Trinamool Congress leader Partha Chattopadhyay, two Singur farmers unwilling to take the compensation package, Rabi Ghosh and Ratan Ghosh, were beaten up by Left Front supporters Friday morning in the neighbouring Arambag area in Hooghly district.
“The two were forced to accept the newly announced compensation package of the state government against their farmland acquired for the Nano plant,” Chattopadhyay told reporters after emerging from a meeting with Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi here.
He said: “I’ve informed the governor about the lawlessness in the state.. The CPI-M is trying to pressurise the Singur villagers so that they accept the package and cheques out of fear.”
The state government has declared a compensation package for the Singur farmers and fixed a deadline of Sep 22 for giving a further 10 percent to the land losers who have not yet accepted the compensation cheques on prices at which land was acquired from them for the project.
The government has also assured one member of each family without any other source of income would be given a job.
Unregistered sharecroppers and agricultural labourers would get 300 days’ wages at one go.
Chattopadhyay called on the government in the morning to apprise him of the latest situation at Singur.
“Our leader Mamata Banerjee also had a telephonic conversation with the governor today (Friday). We are going to give her a detailed report on whatever we discussed with the governor,” he said.
Chattopadhyay also said the Trinamool Congress had filed a written complaint to the governor about the “terror” let loose by the CPI-M.
“We can also demand Section 355 of the Indian Constitution in West Bengal, if we find it necessary. But that will only be decided after our meeting with Mamata Banerjee,” he said.
The Trinamool chief laid an indefinite siege in front of the Tata Motors small car factory site from Aug 24, forcing the company to suspend work since Sep 2.
The state government and the opposition then came to an agreement, mediated by Gandhi, and formed a four-member committee to look into available surplus land for rehabilitating farmers who had not taken their compensation cheques.
Later, the government came out with the compensation package, which the opposition has rejected.