Making a fresh appeal to the Opposition parties to stop their agitation at Singur, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Sunday warned that the Tatas would leave West Bengal if they are not allowed to resume work soon.

“I appeal to all the Opposition parties of the state to accept the package the Government has announced for the farmers in Singur (and) withdraw all agitational programmes,” said Bhattacharjee in his statement.

“If there is further delay, this project will go out of the state. So without any delay, let the Tatas and the ancillary units come back and resume work in a peaceful manner. Let all of us unite and take the initiative of implementing the project in the interest of not only the people of Singur but the people of West Bengal as a whole and also future generations,” he said.

Minister for External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee, who was in Baharampur on Sunday, also warned that if the state lost the project, it would hamper industrialisation. “If the Tatas pull out, it will be very unfortunate. It will give a big jolt to the process of industrialisation in the state,” he said.

However, Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee turned down the Chief Minister’s appeal and said her party was giving a week’s time to the state government to return 300 acres of land from the project site.

“The state government flouted the agreement that was reached in front of Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi,” said Banerjee.

“We are giving seven days time to implement this agreement. Meanwhile, we will go to the Governor, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pratibha Patil, requesting them to intervene in the matter. We will also urge the Central government to dismiss the state government because it broke all democratic norms and traditions,” she said at the end of a meeting of the Krishijomi Rakka Committee at Trinamool Bhavan.

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