Reveal agreement with the Tatas : CPI

Kolkata, Oct 17 (UNI) Giving a new twist to the controversy over land allotment for setting up of the small car factory, Left Front partner CPI has asked the government to make public the mutual set of conditions with Tata Motors.

In a resolution, adopted at the State Executive Committee's extended meeting held here on October 12, the party expressed concern at media reports on the deal with the Tatas and said this had made a ''deep impact'' in people's mind.

''The Executive meeting feels that it is necessary for the sake of maintaining transparency, to reveal before the Front partners and the people, all the mutual conditions in the agreement which are not known even to us, between the Tatas, the Government and the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation(WBIDC),'' the resolution said.

A television report recently claimed that the Tatas were being given the land at a throwaway price and huge benefits for the proposed project.

Industry Minister Nirupam Sen, however, refuted it though admitting to have extended certain concessions to the investor under the Government policy for wooing the industry.

The Minister, however, declined to give details of the agreement stating that this would be a violation of 'Trade secret'. But the CPI Executive meeting asserted that Mr Sen's logic was not right.

The party's view came in the wake of the reported observation of veteran CPI(M) leader Jyoti Basu on October 13 that the Government should come clear on the deal by divulging facts to dispel any doubts in the the minds of the people.

UNI KDG KK PB RN1831