Reopen Singur for business gets Front boost

An elated CPM leader Md Selim feels that this time people who opposed the project earlier will listen to the members of this group. “They are the people who lost out by the pull out of the factory from Singur. So they are coming to the city,” said Selim.

But what has boosted the morale of CPM leaders is the comforting words from its alliance partners who had earlier toed the line of Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee in opposing the setting up of factory over the land which the farmers were not willing to part way with.

RSP leader and state PWD minister Kshiti Goswami said he and his party will not oppose if Tatas open the factory at Singur. Goswami was one of the architects who initiated a ‘mini Left Front’ within the Left Front to protest against Singur land acquisition. These three Left parties kept mounting pressure on the CM.

“Now we feel that the character of the land has changed. Agricultural activities will not be possible on the proposed factory site in Singur. A huge construction has already come up on the land. The 997-acre land is possessed by the Tatas. Why we will object if they want to reopen their small car project at the site?” said Goswami.

Hafiz Alam Sairani,spokesperson of Forward Bloc also echoed Goswami’s view. Earlier,the Bloc office on Chittaranjan Avenue had become one of the focal point of anti land acquisition agitation during 2007-08. Bloc now trying to wash their hands by saying it was the Tatas who left the place.

“We do not subscribe to the idea that fierce agitation led the Tatas to pull out from Singur. We have no objection if they want to set up an industry on Singur land,” said Sairani. CPI’s Manju Kumar Majumdar,who had joined the bandwagon in 2007 against land acquisition,said he has no idea about the committee formed by the Singur farmers.

“I do not know what actually they want. Let me know and I must assure all that out party will take a stand for the interest of the people,” said Majumdar.

Just a day ago,Mamata Banerjee,now the Railway minister,sounded desperate to take the contentious land from the state government for setting up industry. Stating that Singur was like her eyeball, she said: “Let the land be given to the Railways,and industries will come up. We will give back 400 acres to the unwilling farmers and two industries will be set up on the remaining 600 acres.”