Will never implement ‘black and unjust’ land ordinance: Mamata

“My party will fight against the ‘black’ and ‘unjust’ ordinance on land acquisition by burning symbolic copies of it,” the Trinamool Congress chief, who rode to power in 2011 on the back of game-changing agitations against land acquisition in Singur and Nandigram, said.

Mamata’s outburst came a day after the government recommended promulgation of an ordinance making significant changes in the Land Acquisition Act including removal of consent clause for acquiring land for five areas of industrial corridors, PPP projects, rural infrastructure, affordable housing and defence.

“The central government has forcefully brought an ordinance on land acquisition. I have never acquired land forcibly and I would never do that in future,” she said while directing her party workers to start agitation programmes from Wednesday at every block against the ordinance.

She said the country is going “through a dangerous phase due to the BJP government”. “This government is bulldozing democracy across the country. One political party may come to power and go. But the government will continue forever and democracy will continue forever. The Narendra Modi government has created a situation in the entire country which is worse than Emergency,” she said.

Meanwhile, the villagers who had given land for the industrial projects at the Vidyasagar Industrial Park at Rupnarayanpur in Kharagpur, demonstrated before the CM. The projects have not yet started and villagers want the government to return land that they had given in 2006.