NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday accused the West Bengal Government of hiding facts on the Nandigram controversy even as party president Rajnath Singh constituted a five-member team led by Sushma Swaraj to visit the area on Wednesday.

Party spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad virtually challenged the statement made by the Left Government that no notification had been issued for acquisition of land for a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Nandigram and only preliminary discussions had taken place on a proposed SEZ to be set up by the Indonesian-based Salim Group.

`Notification or not'

"Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has said no notification has been issued for acquisition of land, but we have seen a telecast on a private channel showing the government notification ... Why is the Left Front Government hiding the facts?" Mr. Prasad asked. He said it was becoming increasingly clear that a "huge land scam" was related to the proposed SEZ. The West Bengal Government should "come clean" on the Singur deal with the Tatas and the Nandigram proposal. Reiterating the party's support for the concept of SEZs, he emphasised that only wasteland should be used to develop industry and export zones. Development of industrial land should not become a cover for land grabbing or a land scam.

Asked about the over 20 SEZs that had already come up in Gujarat, a State ruled by the BJP, Mr. Prasad said handsome compensations were paid to those from whom land was taken and these had come up not on fertile land but on wasteland. On the other hand, the Left Government was not transparent.

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