I think two years ago, I once mentioned that if somebody puts a gun to my head, you pull the trigger or you take the gun away because I have not moved my head. I think Ms (Mamata) Banerjee has pulled the trigger.” With these words, chairman of Tata Motors Ratan Tata announced what many had come to expect: he was pulling out of Singur — the world’s cheapest car will not be manufactured in West Bengal.

Aware that Durga Puja — the state’s most-awaited festival — is two days, Tata said: “Perhaps, it was not the best day to announce such a decision — on the eve of the Pujas. But we do not see any change in the horizon.”

This announcement came after a meeting with Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Industries Minister Nirupam Sen.

Looking visibly upset, Tata said: “The decision to move out the Nano plant was taken with great pain. It shatters many dreams we had. But at the end it’s a great feeling, too. Great, because we feel we are doing the right thing.”

Sources said that although Bhattacharjee and Sen were aware they were fighting a losing battle — with Mamata not yielding an inch — the finality of today’s announcement came as a severe setback. Especially when the Chief Minister had made the Nano project the prime showpiece of his attempts to put what he boldly called the “wasted years of the state” behind.

Blaming Mamata’s ‘‘destructive agitation,” Sen said: “It is the saddest moment for the state on the eve of festivity.” Late at night, a group of villagers in Singur set up a road block on the Durgapur Expressway protesting against Tatas’ decision and threatened an indefinite blockade condemning Mamata Banerjee.

... contd.