Trinamool-Congress spat reaches Singur

Pushed to the backfoot after the Calcutta High Court declared the Singur Land Development and Resettlement Act 2011 “unconstitutional”,Trinamool Congress’s rally at Singur was apparently a show of strength to retain the support of farmers.

Congress leaders did not shy away from questioning the financial dole offered by the state government to “unwilling” Singur farmers. Mamata recently enhanced the monthly financial assistance to “unwilling farmers” from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000.

Senior Congress leader Abdul Mannan,who led the rally,said: “We are hearing that attempts are being made to give financial assistance to farmers who do not deserve it.”

Those walking in the Congress rally had placards that read: “Stop playing drama over unwilling farmers and bring out an error-free list”,“Call an all-party meet on Singur”; “Stop misuse of public money”.

Reacting to the allegation,Becharam Manna,convener of Singur Krishi Jomi Raksha Committee,said: “Congress is out to derail the initiative taken by the state government for the welfare of the unwilling farmers.”

“We have launched the Singur movement afresh today. It is Mamata Banerjee who has the capacity to return land to the unwilling farmers. The farmers have faith in her,” added Manna,who is also the Trinamool MLA from Haripal Assembly constituency.

But why and against whom the movement has the movement been lauched? “Of course,it is not against the judiciary. It is against the CPM which is conducting a slandering campaign against the state government after grabbing the fertile farmland at gunpoint,” Manna said.

Another senior Trinamool leader Baishanar Chattopadhyay,a lawyer by profession,said the legal battle was not over and that the state government has decided to move the Supreme Court. “It is not a setback. The state government won in the Single Bench but lost in the Division Bench. The case would be heard at the Supreme Court,” Chattopadhyay said.

Most of those who participated in the rally came from various parts of :place Hooghly and other districts.

However,when Manna was asked as to why not many students from Singur participated in the rally,he asked furiously: “Who said local students did not participate in the rally?”

Trinamool insiders say the party is trying its best to keep “unwilling” Singur farmers hopeful in the wake of the Calcutta High Court order.

Soon after losing the Singur land case in the High Court,Mamata had called an emergency meeting with leaders associated with the Singur movement. In the meeting at Town Hall last Saturday,PDS leader Samir Putatunda had advised the Chief Minister to go for at an out-of-court settlement with the Tatas to return land to unwilling farmers. The Chief Minister,however,rejected the proposal. Others who attended the meeting advised her to start a fresh campaign and also continue with the legal battle.