Interacting with heads of all chambers of business and leading industrialists here, Mamata said she had a one-point agenda: the Government must return 400 acres at Singur to farmers still unwilling to accept the compensation package for the 997 acres acquired for the project in 2006.

She claimed she had received a letter from Tata Motors. Though refusing to disclose the content of the letter, she said the Tatas had specified the land required for the car factory. “This is 600-650 acres. The rest is for the ancillaries,” she said.

“Is there anyone from Tata Motors here who can give me permission to read out a few lines from this letter?” Mamata asked the gathering. “The letter is confidential so I will not disclose its contents without their permission.”

Tata Motors’ letter to Mamata comes around three weeks after opponents of the land acquisition at Singur assaulted workers at the site, prompting Tata Motors managing director Ravi Kant to issue a veiled warning that the company’s patience was wearing thin.

With the chambers issuing a joint statement on August 6 calling for an amicable solution, Mamata said the next day that she was ready to talk to Tata.

On Tuesday, Mamata sought to blame Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and the CPI(M) for the mess, saying: “Neither Tata nor the villagers are responsible for the situation.

Tata Motors is the scapegoat.” Mamata also blasted the CM for using delaying tactics, referring specifically to Bhattacharjee’s invitation on Monday asking her to work out a solution with him. For the first time in the two years since she launched her movement, Mamata has accepted the invitation. The Trinamool chief said the CM has deputed Commerce and Industries Minister Nirupam Sen to talk to Mamata’s emissary, Opposition leader Partha Chatterjee. The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday. But Mamata was sceptical. “They are not serious... It is a policy matter in which only the Chief Minister and his Cabinet can take a decision... What can a minister do?”