The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Singur pullout

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Monday, Oct 06, 2008
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Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Singur pullout

The Tata Motors’ decision to pull their small car project out of Singur has spelt gloom for the industrial development of West Bengal. The Trinamool Congress’ obstinate stand on the issue of 300 acres of farmland acquired by the government for the Nano project and its refusal to arrive at a consensus on the issue forced the Tatas to take the drastic decision. Repercussions would be immense for all the stakeholders in the colossal project. One wonders whether Mamata Banerjee is the victor or the vanquished.

Shubha Gupta,

Jaipur

October 3 was a sad day for West Bengal. Ms Banerjee has done a great disservice to the process of industrialisation in the State by dampening investor confidence. Ratan Tata cannot be blamed for his decision to pull the Nano car project out of Singur. Ms Banerjee utilised the peasants’ attachment to land to achieve her narrow political end of frustrating the Left Front government.

K. Lakshmanan,

Tiruchi

The Tatas’ pullout is not only unfortunate but also a setback to the future of industrialisation in West Bengal. Instead of helping the stakeholders arrive at a decision, the Trinamool Congress leader allowed the issue to get out of hand. One wonders how she proposes to explain the turn of events to the farmers of Singur, who were looking forward to a secure future.

Adhip Agarwala,

New Delhi

It is sad that a world-renowned business house has had to pull out of Singur due to politicking. The Tatas should find a new location to roll out the Nano soon not just for their own sake but also to show the world what West Bengal has lost.

Rahul Markonda,

Visakhapatnam

That a veteran politician like Ms Banerjee could not foresee that her brinkmanship would push the Tatas out of West Bengal is ironical. When the Tatas first hinted at the possibility of withdrawing from Singur, she should have accepted a compromise in the interest of West Bengal’s industrialisation and employment of thousands of Bengalis. Now that the Tatas have withdrawn, Ms Banerjee is sure to face a backlash from the people. Her political future is indeed in peril. It will take many years to restore the confidence of investors in the State by which time other States will have marched well ahead.

K.P.R. Iyer,

Bangalore

Ms Banerjee might have achieved her political objective but West Bengal has suffered a major setback. It appears that she is more concerned about remaining in the limelight than fighting for the people. She personifies restrictive and opportunistic politics in India.

Sachin Kumar Singh,

Varanasi

Though the pullout by the Tata Motors looks quite disturbing and ominous for the future of industrialisation in West Bengal, it will not have been in vain if it can be used as an opportunity by the States to review their approach to industrialisation. It is natural for big businesses to extract huge concessions from competing States but there must be some reasonable limits to their demands.

K.S. Subramanian,

Tirupati Nano will no longer be West Bengal’s prestigious project. Who has benefited from the pullout only time will tell. One wonders how the project was allowed to progress for more than a year under conditions of uncertainty to a stage of near-completion. Will the land be made available to the farmers from whom it was acquired? If yes, can it be reused for cultivation? Singur is a lesson for not only the people of West Bengal but all of us.

P. Viswanathan,

Tripunithura

The Trinamool Congress cannot be blamed for the Tatas’ pullout. In a democracy, everyone has a right to protest. It was the West Bengal government’s duty to ensure that adequate support was extended to the Tatas. It is the Left Front government that is to blame for the Singur developments.

M.V. Mukundhan,

Chennai

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