Singur, Hooghly: West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) Supremo Mamata Banerjee addressed a public rally at Singur, emphasizing that unlike others, she had fulfilled her promise of returning land to farmers. The meeting took place nine days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a public gathering at the same location.
“I Kept My Promise to Farmers”
Speaking at the rally, Ms. Banerjee said, “I was ready to die for Singur. I promised that land would be returned to farmers, and I kept my promise. What have you done? Nothing. Except for lecturing, you have done nothing. Have you ever laid a brick here?”
Singur has long been symbolic of the struggle against forcible land acquisition and was a key factor in bringing Mamata Banerjee to power in 2011. The area also witnessed the controversial exit of Tata Motors, which moved its small car factory out of West Bengal, ending industrialisation plans in the region.
Development Initiatives in Singur
The Chief Minister announced several agro-industrial and private industrial projects around the abandoned Tata Motors factory site.
- An agro-industrial park spanning eight acres has been built.
- A private industrial park, where Amazon and Flipkart will set up warehouses, is expected to create thousands of local jobs.
Mamata Banerjee stated, “Both agriculture and industry will thrive in Singur,” noting that many farmers who got their land back after the Supreme Court ruling now find the soil unsuitable for cultivation.
Criticism of the Union Government and BJP
Ms. Banerjee also took aim at the BJP and the Union government, criticizing the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR), which she claimed could delete two crore voter names and influence the Assembly polls.
She said, “You are deleting the names of legitimate voters in the guise of SIR. Don’t you have faith in the people? Will the ECI, by removing two crore names, decide who will be able to vote? Or will the people decide who comes to power through their votes? This is democracy, not autocracy. I want to warn the autocrats.”
The Chief Minister was expected to meet Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in Delhi, but she cancelled her plans due to the tragic demise of Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Ajit Pawar in a plane crash.
