Crucial meeting to solve Singur impasse deferred,Governor optimistic

Kolkata, Sep 05 (UNI) The conciliatory talks between the West Bengal government and Opposition Trinamool Congress for resolving the Nano tangle at Singur, has been deferred till 1600 hours today.

Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi, who will preside over the crucial parley at the Raj Bhavan, said the meeting, which was to be held at 1000 hours, had been deferred following a request from the Government side.

''The Government representatives urged me to postpone the session by few hours. I conveyed their request to the Opposition, and they agreed. Accordingly, I have requested all of them to reassemble at 1600 hours,'' he told reporters.

Heading a five-member delegation, Leader of the Opposition Partha Chattopadhyaya reached the Raj Bhavan shortly before the arrival of the Government representatives, comprising Chief Secretary Amit Kiran Deb and Commerce and Industry Secretary Sabyasachi Sen, among others.

Mr Gandhi, who initiated the peace process, urged both the sides to help find a solution to the problem.

''My expectation is that there should be a congenial atmosphere for negotiation and accommodation,'' he said.

The Governor said while he was optimistic about an amicable settlement of the row over land acquisition at Singur, his expectation from both the sides was that they should be accommodative to help find a solution to the problem.

Observing that the law of the land must prevail, the Governor made the Opposition leaders agree to remove the 12-day blockade on the National Highway two following the indefinite dharna by Trinamool leader Mamata Banerjee and her followers to press for the demand that 400 acres of the Nano project site be returned to the 'unwilling' farmers who allegedly had to part with their plots under Government pressure.

''I have been assured that the highway would be open for free-flowing traffic, which is legally and constitutionally essential,'' he said.

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