Chemical hub to be set up in Nandigram: Minister

West Midnapore, Nov 17: RSP leader and State PWD Minister Kshiti Goswami today alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is determined to set up the chemical hub in Nandigram itself.

''In spite of assurance by the chief minister that no chemical hub would be built here, secret preparations were on to have it set up in Nandigram itself,'' the RSP leader said.

''The CPI(M) activists have taken control of Nandigram, the BUPC supporters have been driven out and I have confidential information that they will finally settle in Nayachar Island, leaving the fate of Nandigram to be decided by the CPI(M) cadres,'' Mr Goswami maintained.

He was talking to newspersons at the PWD Guest House here this morning. He had been attending a two-day district conference of the RSP in Midnapore town.

Coming down heavily on Mr Bhattacharjee, Mr Goswami said the chief minister's party was following the "Chinese form of communism", while forcibly taking over land from the poor farmers.

''Of late, the chief minister and his men have been staunch followers of the Chinese model of communism. In China, millions of farmers had been killed in the 60,000-odd riots, while snatching away their land,'' Mr Goswami, who is a core committee member of the State Cabinet, asserted and added, ''In spite of recommendations by the core committee of not setting up the Hub in Nandigram and avoiding taking over multi-cropping land.

''Since the mini-Front members were a majority in the Core Committee, two more ministers Kiranmoy Nanda and Pratim Chattarjee have been very recently inducted into thier side to gain majority,'' Mr Goswami alleged, while coming down on Mr Bhattacharjee.

He further maintained, ''Stories of induction of Maoists were nothing but lies to mislead the people of the state.'' Mr Goswami said that he will go through the deliberations of all the district conferences of the party beginning with Midnapore, before reconsidering his withdrawal from the Ministry.

UNI