Mamata again rejects Governor's appeal

Kolkata, Dec 21 (UNI) West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi once again urged Ms Mamata Banerjee to withdraw her indefinite hunger strike as the Trinamool leader continued her agitation on the Singur issue for the eighteenth day today.

The Governor, who visited Ms Banerjee at her dharna manch, tried to persuade her about the state Government's rehabilitation package for the displaced farmers and requested to call off fasting.

Besides making a written appeal, this was the second time that Mr Gandhi personally called on the Trinamool leader and urged her not to continue the hunger strike. Ms Banerjee started her hunger strike on December four demanding that the land acquired for the Tatas' small car factory be given back to farmers and the project shifted from Singur.

Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had also made repeated appeals to Ms Banerjee to end her fasting and proposed dialogues across the table over the issue. But the Trinamool leader remained firm to reject the appeal demanding that the Government first comply with her demand.

Former Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu and BJP President Rajnath Singh were among others who had also made similar appeals to Ms Banerjee.

Though continuing fasting, the Trinamool supremo had to backtrack from her resolve to observe a 48-hour statewide bandh following a High Court order and adverse media opinion.

Meanwhile, scribes from different newspaper and television channels joined in a silent march in protest against the manhandling of a reporter and two photographers at the venue of the Trinamool chief's hunger strike yesterday.

Provoked by Ms Banerjee's continuous outburst against the media, a section of Trinamool supporters abused, heckled and roughed up the woman reporter and two photographers of a Bengali news channel, covering the agitation.

UNI KDG KK LS ND17144