Do not oppose Tata proj: Singur farmers to Mamata

Kolkata, Dec 12: In a curious turn of events, a section of farmers of Singur held a rally in the city today requesting Trinamool leader Mamata Banerjee to call off her hunger strike and cooperate in setting up of the Tata Motors' proposed small car project.

The rally, a CPI(M) counter to the movement of Ms.Banerjee and her Naxalite allies to the Tata project on Singur's fertile land, was organised by the farmers who had willingly given their land for the project.

Held at the city's Esplanade area, a stone's throw away from the venue of the Trinamool supremo's hunger strike that entered the ninth day today, the meeting sent an open letter to Ms Banerjee.

"We request you to withdraw your hunger strike. All of us have willingly given our land for the project which will be of immense importance to Singur and the state to the benefit of farmers like us. Please extend coooperation for setting up of the small car factory," it said.

The rally, participated by several hundred farmers, was held a day after Ms Banerjee organised a mass rally at the venue of her hunger strike and threatened to call a 96-hour mass-sit in from December 15 demanding that the project site be shifted from Singur.

The Trinamool leader had so far remained defiant to appeals by Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacaherjee, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and former Chief Minister Jyoti Basu, among others to end the fasting. Today Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi also made a similar appeal to her.

However, Ms.Banerjee declared that she would continue the hunger strike unless the Government stopped acquisition of agricultural land and lifted prohibitory orders under Section 144 Cr P C, imposed in the area.

Mr Dibakar Das, Convener of the Committee for Willing Land givers for industrialisation and urban development said they had held rallies at Dankuni near Singur in Hooghly district yesterday to disprove the opposition's complaints about forced acquisition.

The state Government has acquired 997.11 acres of land for the proposed project, which triggered an uproar among the opposition with the Trinamool, SUCI and two Naxalite factions participating in a joint movement. Joining them, social activist Medha Patkar also severely criticised the Government for 'forcible eviction' of farmers and pledged to take the issue to the national level.

UNI

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