Mamata gives Bhattacharjee ultimatum before non-cooperation

Kolkata, Nov 6 (UNI) In a war cry against acquisition of farm land for Tata Motors' small car project, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee today gave Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee a 12-day ultimatum threatening a 'people's non-cooperation' from November 17.

''If the Government does not give back the acquired land to the farmers at Singur in the next 12 days, we will start a people's non-cooperation with the Government. I appeal to all opposition parties to participate in the movement,'' she said at the party office.

Ms Banerjee, who made a similar announcement at Singur in Hooghly district yesterday, however, did not elaborate on the form of 'non-cooperation'.

She said the party would also undertake protest marches all over the state from November 17. She herself would lead a march from Kolkata to Singur.

Alleging that the state government was trying to suppress the farmers' movement at the gun point the Trinamool leader said her party would stall the move to ''sell out Bengal''.

''If the Government thinks about the benefits of the Tatas why do they not think of the common people? We shall not allow it to play to the wishes of industrialists,'' she said.

Ms Banerjee said she would hold a meeting at Bhangar in South 24 Parganas district on November 15 in protest against the proposed acquisition of land for the projects of the Indonesian Salim Group.

UNI AKM-KDG PL AB AKJ RN1901