Governor tries to broker peace over Singur

Kolkata, Dec 21 (UNI) Stepping in to break the deadlock following Trinamool leader Mamata Banerjee's hunger strike on the Singur issue, West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi today held a meeting with Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Industry Minister Nirupam Sen at the Raj Bhavan.

Earlier, he met Ms Banerjee requesting her to put off fasting and called for dialogues to strike balance between agriculture and industry.

''It was imperative that dialogues take place in the balancing of land used for agriculture with the conversion for industry evolving long term norms with a clear prioritisation that does not lead to avoidable displacement and human distress,'' Mr Gandhi told the Trinamool supremo.

The Governor said people of national eminence and expertise could advise on what could be the norm while Ms Banerjee's suggestions on the subject would be 'most valuable'.

During his one-and-a-half-hour long meeting with the Chief Minister and the Industry Minister, the Governor gave them a set of documents, furnished to him by the Trinamool Congress alleging that land for the Tata Motors' small car project had been forcibly taken away from the farmers.

The Chief Minister and the Industry Minister reportedly apprised the Governor of the Left Front Government's stand on land acquisition and told him that no force was used to take over the plots of farmers.

However, the Trinamool Congress General Secretary Mukul Roy, who met the Governor just before the Chief Minister handed over to Mr Gandhi an affidavit along with 'documents' claiming that more than 1,500 farmers had not parted with land willingly nor did they get compensation.

The meeting was convened after Ms Banerjee refused to end her 18-day-long fasting even after the Governor and the Chief Minister made separate appeals.

The Governor himself called on Ms Banerjee at her dharna manch this morning and requested her to call off the hunger strike. He assured her to bring to the Chief Minister's attention her 'averments' regarding the number of individuals in Singur, who in her estimation, had not consented to part with their land.

Besides making x x x (Eds. pls. pick up from para five of CA 34.. ''POLITICS-LEAD MAMATA-GOVERNOR).

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