At Singur, chorus of ‘talk to Tatas’ grows loud

The chorus of "go for a out-of-court settlement with Tatas and return the land to us" is growing louder and clearer among the farmers. This was evident on Tuesday when a host of Trinamool Congress ministers reached Singur to observe the sixth death anniversary of Tapasi Mallik, an activist of land agitation whose charred body was found from the disputed project site.

However, Panchayat Minister Subrata Mukherjee, considered close to Mamata, seemed not at all ready for talks with the Tatas, at least not ready to make the first move. "Why should we approach Tatas for an out of court settlement? It is the Tatas who have gone to court against the Singur land reclamation law. But if they want to approach us for a out-of-court settlement, our government would definitely think of it," Mukherjee said.

Knowing it prefectly well that the resentment among the Singur farmers has been growing, the chief minster has been frequently dispatching some of her senior leaders to the area to convince them that their land will be finally returned to them. Not only that, Labour Minister Purnendu Bose on Tuesday told farmers that in the event of Supreme Court scrapping the Singur law, the government will enact a new law to return the land.

Amid this, Trinamool MLA from Singur, Rabindranath Bhattacharjee, who was once Mamata's Man Friday during the peak of the land agitation and has now fallen out of her for openly raising voice against some party leaders, too has been talking of a out-of-court settlement. "The only way to settle the dispute is a out-of-court settlement with the Tatas. The condition of unwilling farmers is very bad and if the process of out-of-court settlement is not commenced, the condition of the farmers will deteriorate further," he said.

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