West Bengal Governor to mediate in Singur impasse

Kolkata, Sept 4 : West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi on Thursday will hold discussions separately with the representatives of the State Government and the Trinamool Congress. And on Friday he will mediate between the two sides to find solution to the Singur deadlock.

A Raj Bhavan press statement said the Governor's role would not be that of third party mediator, but that of the meeting's chairperson.

The Governor envisaged his exercise ''as one that will result in a sense of shared, not one-sided, achievement and former Chief Justice of Bombay High Court Chittatosh Mukherjee has agreed to advise him on legal aspects during the Friday's meeting at Raj Bhavan, the statement added.

It further said that during this period, it was essential that all sides try to maintain calm in Singur and take steps to build mutual confidence that was essential for the discussions to take place and succeed.

Following TATA Motors announcement that it would relocate its Nano plant from Singur, Trinamul chief Mamata Banerjee, who had been insisting that she wouldn't talk to the Government unless it first agreed to return 400 acres to unwilling farmers, now softened her stand to take the initiative of urging the Governor to be a mediator.

She said the Governor intervention is welcome, but the parties in power should be more 'positive' in their approach towards the Singur crisis.

Meanwhile, a suicide by a farmer in a Singur village created fresh problems for her. Sushen Santra, 64, went into depression on Tuesday night. He had sold his land for the Nano project and two of his sons were given jobs there. His fear they would lose their jobs drove him to suicide. His family has laid the entire blame on Mamata's agitation.

In view that the stalemate was exacting social costs of a high magnitude apart from the investment costs and the implications on the polity, Gandhi wrote a letter on Wednesday to Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata informing him about the initiative taken to resolve the deadlock at Singur.

State Industry Minister Nirupam Sen is optimistic. He said:: "If we can together find a solution, then we can request Tata Motors' representatives to comeback to the state and resume operations."

The Centre has ruled out intervening in Singur stalemate, but said it is ready to helper solve the issue if approached by the West Bengal Government.

ANI