By IANS,
Kolkata : Railways Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee Tuesday expelled three of her party leaders, including a former legislator and a sitting councillor, in connection with the Vedic Village land controversy.
The three expelled leaders are former legislator Tanmoy Mondal, Rajarhat-Gopalpur Municipality councillor Sukhen Chakraborty and a local Trinamool Congress leader Shankar Narayan.
“No one is above the law and order, not even me. If anyone thinks he has become important so he will do whatever he wants, we’ll take action against that person,” Banerjee said at a political gathering at Rajarhat.
She also demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) enquiry into the controversial land issue at Rajarhat.
“We are not against industrialisation but at the same time we will not tolerate any forcible land acquisition for any industries,” she said.
“It’s the democratic right of people and they can possess their land. No one has the right to acquire anybody’s land forcibly,” she said, alleging the Left Front (LF) government formed an unholy nexus with the land mafia and acquired the land from the farmers in the name of realty boom and industrialisation.
Banerjee also demanded a CBI enquiry into the arms recovery case at Rajarhat area, which surfaced before the April-May general election this year and also from the premises of Vedic Village resort.
It was Banerjee’s first political meeting addressed at Rajarthat after the local clash that sparked tension in the area over a luxury resort Vedic Village.
The project had become controversial following allegations that land sharks – allegedly backed by developers Vedic Realty – had been involved in acquisition of plots there.
Webel, the state-owned IT agency has partnered with Vedic Realty to get land for the 1,600-acre IT project.