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National

National

Basu: we will overcome Nandigram problems

Special Correspondent

"We shall overcome all obstacles in our drive towards industrial growth"

Jyoti Basu

KOLKATA : The recent developments at Nandigram have created some "difficulties," but they will be overcome and the industrial drive in West Bengal will go ahead with the support of people, according to veteran Marxist leader Jyoti Basu.

"We are having some difficulties [in the wake of Nandigram], but we shall overcome all obstacles in our drive towards industrial growth, for which we are seeking people's cooperation," Mr Basu said here on Friday. "Had we done so earlier, things would have been better."

Referring to the Nandigram violence, he said such a situation had never occurred before and it sparked a "nation-wide campaign against us.''

Emerging from a meeting of the State Secretariat of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Mr. Basu said the difficulties caused by Nandigram, which prompted the Government to shift the proposed chemical hub from there, "will be over once we get more information on what actually happened there from the Calcutta High Court and our own inquiries."

Underlining the need to "explain to the people the need for industrialisation," Mr. Basu said "the party and our mass organisations have started going to people at the district level."

The message being conveyed is, "if there is need for some agricultural land in our drive towards industrialisation, agriculture will not suffer [in the event of acquisition],'' he asserted.

If agricultural land was acquired for industry, "we have to ensure greater compensation. We are trying to determine a better rehabilitation policy for them."

"Not permanent"

He said separate meetings by leaders of the Left Front constituents "should not be a permanent feature. Otherwise, the Left Front will cease to exist."

Asked about the March 16 meeting of the the All-India Forward Bloc, the Revolutionary Socialist Party and the Communist Party of India to discuss the Nandigram issue, he remarked: "I have said that such meetings can be held but should not become a permanent feature. ... Whatever you do, the Left Front has to be strengthened. They [the leaders of the three parties] too have accepted this."

In an interview earlier this week to CPI(M) mouthpiece, Ganashakti, he said there should not be a "front within a [Left] Front" and appealed to the leaders of the different constituents to ensure this.

On the strong remarks made by certain senior CPI(M) leaders on Nandigram, Mr. Basu said: "Such utterances were absolutely unnecessary. As we are doing something positive [the industrial drive in the State], we will have to be careful of our language."

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