Left Front appeals Mamata to withdraw bandh call

Kolkata, Oct 1 (UNI) Left Front Committee Chairman Biman Basu today appealed to Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee to withdraw the proposed statewide bandh on October nine considering the need to transportation of relief materials to the flood-hit people of Bengal.

''A bandh at this juncture will hamper the relief work for the flood-affected people. I appeal to the Trinamool Congress leader not to go ahead with her plan considering the need of the hour,'' he said.

Ms Banerjee had called the bandh in protest against the State government's move to acquire 1,000 acres of agricultural land at Singur in Hooghly district for setting up of the Tatas' small car factory.

The SUCI and the CPI(ML) Liberation have also given separate calls for bandh on the same day.

While the Government was already in the process of acquiring land at a stipulated rate of compensation, Ms.Banerjee alleged that the drive bode ill for the state's future as only multi-crop plots were being taken away from farmers.

In reponse to an appeal of the Congress, which of late sided with the Trinamool on the land issue, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has called an all-party meeting on October four to clarify the government's policy on acquiring land for setting up of industries.

But the Trinamool Congress has declared that it will not attend the meeting unless the government apologises for the alleged police attack on Ms Banerjee during a demonstration against distribution of compensation cheques among farmers at Singur on September 25. The Congress, will however, attend the meeting.

UNI KDG PC DKA DB2059