All Party Meeting On Nandigram Is Bogus: Mahasweta Devi

Kolkata, May 23 (UNI) A day ahead of the crucial all party meeting to hammer out the Nandigram imbroglio, celebrated writer and social activist Mahasweta Devi today described the exercise as ''bogus''.

Instead she called for ''real rehabilitation'' of those who sustained injuries and fell to police bullets on March 14.

''Everything is all right in Nandigram, people are going to work, students attending schools and colleges and people are not starving.

''They only need to be assured that no attack comes from neighbouring Khejuri. Besides, medical treatment to those who sustained injuries in police attacks should be provided,'' the Magsaysay awardee said while releasing the Amnesty International-India's Report 2007 here.

Former Calcutta High Court judge D K Basu said the Amnesty had demanded an impartial inquiry into the March 14 police firing and bringing the perpetrators to justice.

''Nandigram is a glaring example of state-sponsored terrorism that created panic among the people who live on agricultural produce. The West Bengal government should ensure that no common man's land is acquired forcibly in the name of industrialisation,'' he said.

The Amnesty International demanded the government make public its land acquisition policy and it should desist from forceful takeover of agricultural land for industry, Mr Basu said.

He also regretted the way social activist Medha Patkar was treated by the government to force her return from Singur while local people were protesting against land acquisition for a proposed car factory there.

Mahasweta Devi lauded the doctors who volunteered to go to Nandigram to treat the injured and announced to set up a hospital there.

She said tomorrow's proposed all party meeting would not serve the real issues of Nandigram. ''People need to be assured that their life and property would be safeguarded. Besides, no intrusion of outsiders should be allowed,'' she maintained.

The writer said barring Mamata Banerjee, no leader had tried to go to Nandigram to assess the situation. She said, ''Though Mamata had tried, she was prevented from going there.'' She said she had been to Nandigram on May 19 and found everything was all right. On May 26 and 27, there will be people's tribunal at Nandigram and on May 28 in Kolkata, she said.

The writer-activist said protests, which she described as ''people's war'', were still on against land acquisition.

UNI