Medha shares dais with Mamata: calls for joint fight on Singur

Kolkata, Dec 6 (UNI) With a call for ''ladenge aur jitenge'', social activist Medha Patkar joined hands with Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee here today, pledging to stall the Tata Motors' small car factory on the fertile land of Singur.

Giving a new dimension to the Opposition movement against acquisition of farm land, the Narmada Bachao Andolan leader shared dais with Ms Banerjee, who had been on an indefinite hunger strike and called for a joint movement by those opposed to the Government move ''till we reach the goal''.

''Tatas may buy Corus. But they cannot buy the agricultural land of Singur with their money power. 'Hame yeh nara lagana hai ki hamari jamin punjipation ke liye nahin' (our slogan should be -- our land is not for capitalists), ''she told a swelling crowd.

Ms Banerjee had been on fast under the banner of 'Singur Krishi Jami Raksha Committee', a platform of 19 political parties and organisation in the city's Esplanade area for the third day today.

Soon after Ms Patkar left the venue, Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi met Ms Banerjee on a courtesy visit to inquire about her health.

Rejecting any immediate possibility for talks with Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Ms Patekar, who was prevented by police from entering Singur thrice over the past four days, said talks could be held only if there were no police in between.

She said the proposed car factory on multi crop land would destroy the livelihood of the local farmers and the Government must make arrangement for shifting the proposed site to a non-agricultural land.

''I am fighting here for a cause which is similar to that I took up in Maharashtra with the Left parties. But the Maharashtra Government has stated that it would acquire only single crop land for industry, which the West Bengal Government has not done, '' she said.

Alleging that she had been arrested every time she tried to visit Singur, Ms Patkar said Government could not stop any citizen's free movement. '' The 144 Cr P C clamped in the area is unnecessary.

Is there an emergency or are all of us terrorists ? '' she asked.

Earlier, Ms Patkar handed over a memorandum to President A P J Abdul Kalam at the Kolkata airport on the acquisition of farm land and the Government policy on Special Economic Zone(SEZ).

She told reporters that from now on West Bengal would be her centre of operation and she would continue her movement.

Speaking at a protest meeting of intellectuals in the College Square area, Ms Patkar called for making Singur a national issue and urged those opposing the Government move to go to Singur.

'' The Singur issue should be made a national issue and you must work for that, '' she said.

Yesterday the social activist talked to the Governor over phone from Dankuni in Hooghly district, seeking redressal to the ''injustice'' being meted out to the farmers of Singur.

She had alleged that democracy had been murdered at Singur where police lathicharged protesting farmers during demarcation of the acquired land on December two.

Yesterday Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee talked to Ms Patkar over telephone and said he was ready to hold talks with her on the issue.

However, flaying her, CPI(M) State Secretary and Polit Bureau member Biman Basu had alleged that Ms Patkar was blocking the state's development the way the developed nations were trying to scuttle progress of the developing countries.

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