Amar Singh by her side, Mamata to Tatas: stay, but return 400 acres

The dharna near the factory gate was peaceful and Banerjee was joined, among others, by SP general secretary Amar Singh and activist Medha Patkar.

“I would urge the Tatas not to leave Bengal. Stay here, be satisfied with 600 acres. Please return 400 acres to the farmers or else we will continue to sit here and agitate,” Banerjee told a huge gathering of party workers and supporters.

“We have ourselves identified 500 acres of land just opposite the Tata plant. It is low land and unsuitable for agriculture. The CPM is buying the land and plans to develop residential complexes. I urge the Government to shift the ancillary units to that land,” she said.

Amar Singh told the gathering he was “misled” by CPM general secretary Prakash Karat and politburo member Brinda Karat that the agitations in Nandigram and Singur were led by Naxalites and anti-social elements. Saying it was “a grave mistake to side with the CPM”, he said his party backed the Trinamool agitation. Referring to the invitation to Tatas from other state governments, he said: “Let them go if they are invited elsewhere.”