Left Front opposes Tuesday's Bangla bandh

Kolkata, Dec 3 (UNI) The ruling Left Front in West Bengal today opposed the SUCI-sponsored statewide bandh for December five and said yesterday's unrest over land acquisition at Singur was triggered by 'outsiders'.

''We oppose the bandh because farmers voluntarily gave their land to the Government for the Tata Motors' small car project and hardly did they participate in yesterday's incident. The problem was created by some outsiders,'' Left Front Committee Chairman Biman Basu said after a meeting of the ruling partners.

The SUCI has called the bandh in protest against ''police atrocities'' on the villagers during the work for demarcation of the acquired land for the Tatas' project at Singur in Hooghly district yesterday.

Altogether eight people, including three policemen, were injured in lathicharge and pelting of stones between the two sides that snowballed into an uproar by the opposition in the state.

Defending the police action, Mr Basu said the force, deployed in the area to oversee the demarcation work, had showed utmost restraint, but had to act in the face of attack. He said only one of those, beaten up by police, belonged to the area.

''The policemen were attacked by some outsiders. Even a woman police officer got a razor slash. Those who attacked police also damaged the houses of few of our partymen in the area,'' he said.

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