National   

Don’t play with fire, says Mamata

KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has ridiculed suggestions that the shifting of Tata Motors’ Nano project from Singur would affect her party’s popularity with the urban voter.

She was addressing a rally here on Sunday to protest against the arrest of party activists in connection with the October 4 violence in the Charu market area here in which the police station was attacked and vehicles there set on fire.

Ms. Banerjee’s agitation, which resulted in Tata Motors deciding to relocate the project, has been widely construed as an attempt to win the sympathies of the rural electorate even though shifting the project from the State might not have gone down well with many among the urban voters who see industrialisation as a means to generate employment.

Ms. Banerjee held the State government responsible for the Tata Motors pull out from Singur and renewed her tirade against the government for its failure to abide by an agreement signed between it and her associates (on September 7) on the return of land to farmers who had not taken compensation.

“We have been saying that we are in favour of industry as well as agriculture,” she said. “The government has burnt its fingers wherever it has planned to set up industry — whether at Singur or at Nandigram. Do not play with fire,” Ms. Banerjee cautioned, directing her ire towards Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.

Ms. Banerjee said that she would be calling on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pratibha Patil, to submit reports backing her allegations of “State-sponsored terrorism” by the government. She called for a “gherao” of Lal Bazaar on October 20.

Stories in this Section

CPI(M) condemns Adilabad killings
Modi’s open letter to Buddhadeb, Mamata
Three accused to be taken to Orissa
66 Sri Lankan fishermen held, 12 boats seized
India for expanding border trade with Myanmar
Camps in Dhule full of people who are too scared to return home
Modhvadia does a volte face
Kerala police suspect ploy by terrorists
Don’t play with fire, says Mamata
Six members of a family burnt alive in Adilabad
Man set on fire; suffers 50 per cent burns
“Situation in Assam returning to normal”
AASU opposes Mahanta’s return to AGP
Malegaon blast toll mounts to 6
INLD back in NDA, to contest Lok Sabha polls in Haryana with BJP

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu