SHAHID DIVAS RALLY WITNESSES A PACKED KOLKATA INDOOR STADIUM

RALLIES HELD IN EVERY DISTRICT OF BENGAL ON 31 AUGUST

KOLKATA(INN): Just over a month back, CPI (M) general secretary Prakash Karat while in Kolkata to attend a state committee meeting, told us that once the ongoing campaign-movement reached a peak all-over Bengal -- against US intransigence, against the Indian government’s kow-towing before imperialism, and against the runaway inflation, all the secondary and tertiary issues that were created by the Bengal opposition in its different avatars, to tease, taunt, provoke and ultimately harm not only the people of Bengal, but also the Bengal CPI (M), and the Bengal Left Front government, ‘would get subsumed in the people’s struggles.’

MASS MOVEMENTS

Truer words were seldom spoken as was demonstrated by the massive, unprecedented attendance at all the rallies that were being held all-over Bengal, in towns as well as rural areas, on the occasion of remembering the sacrifice of the shahids (martyrs) of the food movements of the past, especially those who were brutally killed in 1966 by the then Congress-run Bengal government. That was not all as the campaign movement widened and deepened among the toiling masses.

The Maoist intransigence has stopped in its tracks. Nandigram has seen only occasionally flaring up despite the Trinamul Congress’s quite unexpected, and as yet unexplained, electoral step forward of the in the last rural polls; and the Darjeeling separatists have halted in their onerous trail to gradually convert the three hill subdivisions into a separate district for all practical purposes.

Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Bengal chief minister and a senior CPI (M) leader of Bengal started his address at the indoor stadium, after the roar of applause has finally died down when he had stepped up and taken the microphone on the podium, a usual phenomenon and one that leaves him visibly and always in great discomfiture, by asking rhetorically what could be the ‘ways-and-means’ to fathom and plumb the depth of the present situation in India-- and in Bengal?

TWO ISSUES

Two issues, he answered his own query, ‘we must ponder over, and with seriousness that they deserve.’ These were, first, the programme of the campaign movement in the days, weeks, and months, even years to come. Second, what are the ideological, political, organisational, and yes, developmental tasks that the Bengal CPI (M) wants to achieve, taking along the toiling exploited masses of the people all the way?

Buddhadeb served a warning when he said that ‘at the present moment we have a central government that would not even marginally bother about the vast economic crisis overwhelming the nation.’ There is a double digit inflation just topping the fearful figure of 13% plus. The prices of essential commodities are soaring up, productivity has fallen below 7% -- and the smile on the faces of the hoarders and black-marketers, enjoying ‘safe havens’ under the Singh dispensation, are becoming broader and broader.

CORRECT JUNCTURE

Buddhadeb said that some time back, and at the correct juncture, the CPI (M) and the Left had withdrawn their outside support from the Congress-run UPA government. ‘We may remind you of the circumstances that had led us to lend them our support in the first place: there was then a second coming of the BJP, claws, teeth, fangs and talons exposed, ready to ride the rath (chariot) of Hindutva, preparing to render the nation asunder along communal fault lines.’

‘We needed to stop the BJP from assuming office. That was the reason, and the sole reason, behind our lending outside support to the Congress whose authoritarian features the CPI (M) knows better than any political outfit in India, especially from our experiences in Bengal of the 1970s.

Nevertheless, was the support unconditional? No, it was certainly not. A Common Minimum Programme had been drawn up. Two committees had been formed: one of the UPA and the other, the pro-people, Left coordination committee. The condition was the implementation of the contents of the CMP.

‘Soon we started to realise that the Singh régime was moving away from the CMP – slowly at first and then with gleeful rapidity, and the two committees started to meet less and less, and the blemish did not lay with the sincere and mature leadership of the CPI (M) and the Left.

‘We knew that we were about to come under fire – already the people grilled us about our raison d’être of suppoporitng an anti-people government. The oil prices were allowed to float upwards with nary a concern for the cascading and harmful effects on the economy. Would the Singh government mind?

LF WITH THE PEOPLE

The LF government has withdrawn a large chunk of its share of taxes on fuel – a slight but important relief to the people’s economy, the economy where the toiling masses operate for their daily livelihood. Accountable to the people, we even stood the loss of crores of rupees every month by starting to supply rice, lentils, and edible oil at a concessional price.

In the meanwhile, the Singh government was running away with its wishes. ‘We had said “no!” to the “strategic partnership” with the US.’ The central government fussed over the issue but went quietly ahead with its anti-people, anti-national machinations. ‘We had said that they should put an immediate stop to all those “joint exercises” and their likes – but would they listen for a moment—no, and the “no” was not exactly unexpected by then to us, given the central government’s class character.’


WHAT STANDS IN BETWEEN

‘On the last occasion I met Prime Minister Singh,’ said Buddhadeb, ‘I told him quite categorically that the being that stands between the left and the Congress is none other than the one and only George W Bush – and the prime minister would not bother for a response.’

An important task ahead is the building up of a third alternative – a long-drawn task, indeed, for that alternative must come up through the vagaries and the challenges of mass movements all over the country – and not just in the Left-run states. The Left would of course grow from strength to strength as the principal force of opposition in the days to come, was Buddhadeb’s firm belief and conviction.

agriculture and industry

Narrating the agrarian successes of Bengal in recent times, Buddhadeb iterated the need for industries for employment-oriented growth. He was critical of the opposition when they talk out of turn and damning the law of the land about ‘returning and for which compensation has not been received.’ Buddhadeb again said that the portals for discussion were open but within the present legal and administrative frame work.

Buddhadeb also explained what was meant by ancillary units and how these units must abut the mother plant for the production chain to be of any viability at all. The strife going on around Singur is one-sided – nay, more it is a strife between the opposition and the aam janta of Bengal, between the forces of development and the forces of regression – and the question that faces everybody is this: would the state move forwards along its determined path of pro-people, pro-poor, pro-employment growth or would the Trinamul Congress get on with its evil design of stalling the entire process?

Biman Basu who presided spoke briefly on the purport of the rally and on the significance of the day. He narrated his experiences of the food movements in which he had taken a part as a young lad, and had had its first test Congress régime’s brutal ways. Bimanda concluded by saying that all kinds of developmental works in Bengal must take the people along with the entire process and procedures.

Left Front constituent leaders addressing the rally were Manju Kumar Majumdar (CPI), Barun Mukherjee (FB), Debabrata Bandyopadhyay (RSP), Pratim Chatterjee (Marxist FB), Janmejoy Ojha (WBSP), Prabodh Sinha (DSP), Mihir Byne (RCPI), and Rita Chaudhuri (BBC).

(B. PRASANT)

31 August,2008

Infosys Chief Narayana Murthy speaks out for Tata Nano

THE CORPORATE honchos of India, the men who have written some of the greatest success stories in India are all coming forward in a combined effort to express their solidarity opposed to what is happening at Singur at the Tata Nano plant. Narayana Murthy on Sunday (August 31) went on to say that the gridlock at Singur over Tata’s Nano plant is likely to be a major hurdle in the growth of the Indian economy. Murthy went on to add, What has happened in Singur is unfortunate for West Bengal, for India and for all progressive Indians.” Murthy has always been known to speak his mind over social and economic issues.

Earlier, during the anti reservation stirs all over the country, he had come out in defense of the anti reservation activists by saying, “India is perhaps the only country in the world where people fight to be called backward.” At this instance too, he has come out in support of the Tatas, for he feels that it will be a great blot to India’s growth if the Tata Nano project at Singur is halted.He also believed that this event would result in a dearth of jobs for youngsters in the state of West Bengal and it will deter growth in the state. He also said, “This event will unleash fear and uncertainty in the minds of all investors – Indian and foreign – and is likely to be a stumbling block in the excellent GDP growth India has demonstrated in the last decade. “It is time that all well-intentioned Indians stand up and demand a peaceful, logical and constructive way of settling the issue of farmland at Singur and elsewhere in India.” Murthy’s statement comes just a few days after Mukesh, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Limited said, “A fear-psychosis is being created to slowdown certain projects of national importance”.

Mukesh also believed that such steps will deter the economic growth of the country and will also deter foreign investors from coming and investing in India. He had also gone on to praise the Tata Nano projects citing it as one of the most innovative projects in the world and one that would go on to establish the position of India as a small car hub in the world market. In the entire process, the biggest loser is sure to be the state and the people of West Bengal. (Agencies)

02 September 2008, Tuesday

Tata Motors suspends work on Nano plant in Singur

Kolkata: Tata Motors Ltd. has been constrained to suspend the construction and commissioning work at the Nano plant in Singur in view of continued confrontation and agitation at the site. This decision was taken in order to ensure the safety of its employees and contract labour, who have continued to be violently obstructed from reporting to work. The company has assessed the prevailing situation in Singur, after five continuous days of cancellation of work, and believes that there is no change in the volatile situation around the plant. The project’s auto ancillary partners, who had commenced work at their respective plants in Singur, were also constrained to suspend work in line with Tata Motors’ decision.

In view of the current situation, the company is evaluating alternate options for manufacturing the Nano car at other company facilities and a detailed plan to relocate the plant and machinery to an alternate site is under preparation. To minimise the impact this may have on the recently recruited and trained people from West Bengal, the Company is exploring the possibility of absorbing them at its other plant locations.

Construction of the plant has faced challenges at various points of time. There has however been a significant decline in the attendance of their staff and contractual labour since August 24, 2008. Some of the international consultants working on the plant have returned home and the construction work in the plant has been stalled since August 28, 2008. In fact, the existing environment of obstruction, intimidation and confrontation has begun to impact the ability of the company to convince several of its experienced managers to relocate and work in the plant. Further, several persons engaged in the construction and commissioning work who had taken accommodation at Singur and nearby areas have since vacated and have gone away due to intimidation and fear.

Construction of the Nano project comprising of the Nano manufacturing facilities and the vendor park, a normal feature in modern world-class auto plants, commenced in January 2007. The work on the construction and commissioning of the plant had been nearing completion in line with planned schedules. During construction, this project employed about 4000 employees at its peak including several hundred young residents from and around the region.

As a part of its commitment to enhance the employability of its people. Tata Motors has trained over 762 ITIs and other apprentices from the region and the state. They have undergone retraining at the Tata Motors facilities in Jamshedpur and Pune. Tata Motors’ efforts to offer medical care in and around the region, which had handled over 17,000 medical cases, have been forcefully stopped by violent agitators. As part of the proposed integrated auto cluster in Singur, about 60 key auto ancillary suppliers to the Nano have taken possession of land in the integrated complex and have invested about Rs.500 crore towards construction of their plants and procurement of their equipment and machinery.

Commenting on the situation, a Tata Motors spokesperson said, “The situation around the Nano plant continues to be hostile and intimidating. There is no way this plant could operate efficiently unless the environment became congenial and supportive of the project. We came to West Bengal hoping we could add value, prosperity and create job opportunities in the communities in the state.”

September 02, 2008

Lives changed, by Nano and by siege

By DEVADEEP PUROHIT

Singur, Sept. 1: Mukunda Das was a laid-back trader till the summer of 2006, rarely missing his siesta in Singur.

Then the Tata plant was born, bringing in its wake the sleep-busting jangle of money.

“On an average, I have been selling cash cards worth Rs 6,000 a day for over a year. The growth in business has been phenomenal,” said Das standing outside his store, Moumita Electronics, in Singur Bazar, which sells radio sets to cellphone top-up cards.

On Monday, a weekly off in Singur Bazar, all shops were closed and Das had slipped back to his old routine.

“Even keeping the shop open would not have helped. Sales have slumped since the siege of the Tata factory. Business is not even Rs 1,000 a day,” said Das, a staunch Trinamul supporter.

Standing under the shop’s hoarding, partially covered with signboards of several telecom companies, he spoke of the slump in earnings since work stopped at the Tata factory.

According to Das, everything changed in Singur since the arrival of the Tata plant.

The signs of change are visible across Singur, a sleepy township in Hooghly till a couple of years ago. Four new banks — State Bank of India, Axis Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce and Bank of India — set up shop, nine two-wheeler stores opened, computer training centres mushroomed and consumer goods swamped the stationery shops.

Tinku Maiti, a cycle-van puller till a few months ago, would vouch that the change did not happen only in terms of creation of new avenues to spend and save.

“Our incomes have grown, too…. I earn at least Rs 300 to Rs 400 a day by ferrying passengers from the Singur station to the Tata plant,” said Maiti, standing next to his trophy — a motorised van he bought two months ago.

Maiti, son of a farmer from Ratanpur that escaped land acquisition for the Tata project by a whisker, said the increase in employment opportunity had changed the standard of living in rural Singur as well.

As the Tata Motors plant was closed for the third consecutive day, Maiti and his fellow motor van drivers — around 70 of them — had a dull day at work.

Sadai Koley of Koley Cement Syndicate, one of the biggest local suppliers of cement, sand and stone chips to the Tata plant, also had time to sit back and sift through his account books.

Koley started the hardware business seven years ago but it took off only in 2006. In two years, it has grown by over 15 times and prompted him to increase staff strength from six to 30 and buy three computers.

“I cannot understand why Trinamul supporters are against the project. Many members of the syndicates, which supply materials to the Tata plant, are Trinamul supporters,” said Koley, sitting in his office on Surendra Mullick Road in Singur.

For traders like Koley and Das, the only pitfall of the boom is rising property prices and rent in Singur.

Deed writer Ashok Chakraborty, who used to handle at least 50 property deals a month, explained how the rising property prices — around 100 per cent in less than 12 months — had affected his trade.

“People are expecting further increase and not selling land. So, I hardly write 15 to 20 deeds a month. But as our remuneration is a percentage of the value of the deal, my income has gone up.”

The rising income and easy availability of credit — other than the four new banks, Singur also has Allahabad Bank, UBI and Hooghly District Co-operative Bank — have given a boost to Singur’s economy.

“The future looks exciting as promoters are joining hands with owners of houses along Singur Bazar and Natun Bazar to develop more commercial space,” said a senior official of a public sector bank in Singur.

But he was quick to add that the growth run would halt if the Tatas decide to pull out.

highway hope

Fifty-nine trucks were allowed to pass through Durgapur Expressway in two batches on Monday — the first such movement since the Singur siege began more than a week ago. Officials said they were hopeful trucks would be allowed to ply the highway tomorrow, too.

Issue Date: Tuesday ,

September 2 , 2008,

THE TELEGRAPH

Media reports Left rally against imperialism on 1st Sept.

Half-a-million march in Kolkata

to condemn the pro-imperialist

stance of the central government

KOLKATA,1st Sept.: vast sea of people started to advance in waves that rode on the strength of anti-imperialist feelings of the strongest kind as over five lakh of people – from virtually every cross-section of the society – strode along the streets and lanes of Kolkata. The people’s march organised by the Bengal Left Front was led by the LF leadership with the LF chairman Biman Basu despite injuries to his right foot, leading the marchers by example – the blazing sun above and the molten tar underfoot were of little hindrance.

The march commenced amidst rousing anti-imperialist slogans from the Suhrawardi Avenue near the Brabourne College grounds and by the time the first columns, banners, festoons, buntings, tableaux, and countless Red Fags fluttering in the freshening welcome breeze, as LF chairman Biman Basu released a single white dove that flew right up in the background of a glittering blue mid-day sky overhead.

The marchers started to walk along the A J C Bose Road and we were quite astounded to see another equally long column marching along the opposite footpath in the ‘wrong’ direction. Polite enquiries revealed that these streams of men and women, many of the latter carrying children suitably and carefully shielded from the sun under their pallus, were in fact going to Park Circus to join up with the eternally long ‘tail’ of the procession.

Police wireless buzzed to speak of numbers—and the ‘guesstimates’ were constantly revised, upwards, of course – from ‘one lakh, sir,’ to finally, with a bit of surprise in the voice, ‘over five lakhs, sir,’ and did we or did we not note a hint of glee in the voices of at least some of the men in uniform on duty or was our old aural équipe playing up in the sun?

Whatever – the fact of the matter was the lengthening line of people who soon decided to merge into a single, albeit a bit clumsy, a bit boisterous, and a tiny bit belligerent wave of humanity that advanced relentlessly and called upon the central government to stop kneeling lower and lower down before US imperialism, the perpetrators of all kinds of crimes against humanity itself, all over the world.

Faces in the crowd we saw aplenty as we dodged in and out of the processionists. We saw Sudeshna Paul from Belghoria, a former student who is now a young professor and who teaches sociology at a college in faraway Nadia and who had come to the city braving the train services that suddenly but not strangely had started running well behind schedule on this particular day, quickly snatch up and gather together her shopping bags from the roadside stall where she was making a hasty purchase of some increasingly higher-priced daily necessities, and then literally run swiftly join the marchers as the wave advanced-- soon getting lost in the sea of faces. We also Akram-ul Huq, a garage ‘mechanic,’ an underpaid helper actually, forego a day’s wage to join in, for the marchers are ‘talking about meri desh being sold out to videshis of a faraway land.’ This is grassroots nationalism in action.

We espied a clutch of budding entrepreneurs, among them Dwijendralal Banerjee accompanied by his colleagues who came all the way from the far side of the E M bypass, braving a fever and a cough, and they were soon joined by a tad sweaty, and very neatly but unsuitably dressed for the Kolkata summer -- ties and jackets and formal trousers and all – young men and women, oh, maybe a couple of thousands of them, perhaps a bit more, who had left the drudge of seven-days-a-week-work and had emerged from the unease of the secluded comfort of the confines of air-conditioned alcoves IT offices in sector V of Salt Lake onto spaces open and sunny, and had rushed out to catch the marchers as the waves of people passed onto the Moulali crossing and then proceeded towards the Sealdah flyover.

There, the procession was hugely swelled as a very large number of unorganised workers, mostly mutia-mazdoors (headload carriers) and auto-rickshaw drivers and ‘mechanics,’ who joined in, shouting slogans, waving the Red Flag -- CITU banners held high as always. Khet mazdoor Paran Mondol appeared a bit bewildered. ‘How could these many men and women come and who called upon them to come out on a holiday, and how, babu?’ was his innocent enquiry.

He himself had come with a hundred-odd group of his fellow agricultural labourers from the extreme southern fringe of Kolkata buttressing south 24 Parganas that still harboured the clean and fresh of unending green stretches of rice paddies, from where the metro citizens have their steady supply of seasonal vegetables, and rice.

Why have you come, Paran? Well, dada, I understand the Delhiwallah’s government (ok, meaning understood, fully) is actually engaged in buying rice from videshis and allowing those ‘nasty’ (that was not the colourful Bengali invective he actually used, of course) ‘blackers’ of around here and there in the whole country in fact to get away with their ‘nasty’ (ditto) ways.

The march went on, on, and on – passing along A P C Bose Road. School students joined in somewhere along the line holding up banners that had photos of the eternal inspirational figure of Che Guevara and emblazoned with the immortal words ‘egobo, jotokhhon na jitbchhi!’ (onwards, until we achieve victory!’) The innumerable tableaux carried photos of a molly-coddling photo of Bush adoring Singh, and the other way around.

The marchers included black-jacketed lawyers, engineers, artistes, intellectuals, littératures, students from every tier of education, housewives, sports persons, film personalities, and above all the common man, the members of the toiling masses who shouted out anti-imperialist slogans from the core of their hearts and who made the procession come alive, made the march a living protest against imperialist forays and the betrayal of the people by the Singh government, and the people had the final say on this day and for all the days to come.

(INN)

THE HINDU, 2nd SEPT., 2008

Left rally against imperialism

Be wary of divisive forces: Biman Bose

KOLKATA:

The ruling Left Front on Monday organised a huge procession here against imperialism and in support of peace. Major arterial roads in the central and northern parts of the city went out of bounds to traffic.

“Anti-people” policies

The rallyists carried festoons and posters condemning the U.S.’ threats to India’s independent foreign policy and the United Progressive Alliance government’s “anti-people” economic policies, leading to rising prices of essential commodities and inflation. Some Ministers too joined the procession, which covered a distance of 8 km.

“People from all strata of society, even different sports organisations, have joined the march against imperialism and communalism,” said Biman Bose, Secretary of the CPI(M) State Committee.

Orissa violence

On the communal violence in Orissa, Mr. Bose said: “The Bharatiya Janata Party is not in power does not mean that communal forces are not active in the country.” He said the people of the country should be careful as divisive powers were still operative.

“Strengthen unity”

“We have to strengthen our unity to fight against U.S. which is trying to impose its wills on our country,” Mr. Bose said.

Rally at Siliguri

The protesters arrived in buses, trucks, mini-trucks and trains from all districts in South Bengal. A similar event was organised at Siliguri in north Bengal.

Road blockade

Mr. Bose said that many supporters from the Burdwan and Hooghly districts had to cancel their journey because of “the illegal road blockade by the Opposition party on the Durgapur Expressway at Singur, forcing people to take eight-hour detour to reach the city.”

FROM PRAJASHAKTI CORRESPONDENT:

People of Bengal witness historic anti-imperialist rally

Massive turnout as Lakhs of protesters marches through Kolkata streets echoing their anti-imperialist slogans: another rally also flooded north Bengal

Kolkata. September 01: The massive rally that Kolkata witnessed today, once again reiterated the Kolkata’s claim as the bastion of anti imperialist struggle. At the call of the left front committee of West Bengal Lakhs marched together in an honest bid to show their pro peace and anti imperialist sentiments. The rally started from Park Circus Ground at Central Kolkata at about 1 pm in the afternoon. Braving the hot and humid conditions thousands of sloganeering protesters marched through the heart of the city chanting slogans and holding colourful placards in their hands. The rally started from the Park Circus ground after a short meeting in a makeshift platform from where prominent Left Leaders including the Left Front chairman Biman Bose addressed the gathering twelve pigeons were released in the air by 12 leaders of the Left front in a symbolic gesture in favour of everlasting peace. The anti-imperialist campaigners started their walk in the prescribed route which was scheduled in such a manner as not to obstruct the traffic flow of the city. Expected that more than 2 lakhs people attended in this Grand rally. People of every walk of life today participated in this historical rally with great enthusiasm, where bidi workers of Murshidabad district walked in this rally with joining hands with coal workers of raniganj. Student-Youth-Workers-kishans-women- teacher-lawyers every section of society today added more colour in this anti-Imperialist rally. Total 13 districts of south Bengal participated in this rally today as like Kolkata, Siliguri also was flooded by the sea of people. In North Bengal another anti-imperialist grand rally was staged at Siliguri where about one lakh people from the 6 districts of North Bengal participated in this rally. This rally was stated from baghajatin Park area in Siliguri and concluded at Kanchanjangha stadium. Here urban development minister Ashok Bhattacharya, CPI(M) Darjeeling district secretary S P Lepcha, Jalpaiguri District secretary Manik Sanyal led this rally, mentioning that even avoiding violent threaten of GJM activists, thousands of CPI(M) supporters, activists participated in this rally. Every Left Front MLAs, MPs, member of west Bengal cabinet were almost present in these two rally in Kolkata and Siliguri as per distribution.

The rally was marked by enthusiastic participation from large range of socio- political cultural and sports organisations like West Bengal Volleyball Association, sports organisations like ‘Friends of the Stadium” and cultural organisations like Panther Panchali, and many others. Abdul Barik a class 12 student of Karola High school in Ghatal of West Midnapore district, walked hand in hand with the eminent lawyers of Kolkata High Court who joined the rally as a part of their organisation Demiocratic Lawyers Forum . Huge number of students of Calcutta university and its different colleges marched in the rally under the banner of their organsation “SFI”.One such participant Avishek Dey & Arpita Chatterjee of Manindra Chandra College echoed the sentiments of the rally through expressive placards in their hand. Puspa Dutta an 82 years old woman ,a CPI(M) enthusiast was seen covering the whole stretch of the rally spanning over more than 6 KM’s ,with an arm wrapped over the shoulder of her younger comrade . It seemed that the whole rally was echoing the sentiments of the mass singer who singing for continuous peace and harmony among the different races . The anti –imperialist mood of the rally was also evident citizen workers and peasants walked hand in glove to defeat the forces of imperialism . The hatred of the common towards the US led forces was evident as the rallyist raised high pitched slogan s, voicing their opinion to cancel the upcoming naval strategic exercise in the Malabar coasts in Kerala . The vastness of the rally was evident from the fact that when the front portion of the rally have already reached the destination point at Desbandhu Park (North Kolkata)the tail was still waiting at the inception point of the rally at Park Circus grounds.

Addressing this huge attended rally, Today Left Front Chairman Biman Basu has stated that “ West Bengal always stand in front line in the battle against imperialist aggression, and today again people of Bengal echoed their voice against US imperialist force at the same marked they strong reaction against UPA incumbent those shamefully surrender before US imperialist force. Biman Basu also has added that “we, left parties already withdraw our outside support from this UPA incumbent, because we couldn’t extend our support to a government, those want to build up strategic relation with United States”. Mainly raising 22 point of slogans, this historic rally vibrated Kolkata Street with great commitment to carry out such pro-people, anti-imperialist and anti communal struggled under the banner of Red flag. Even renowned personalities, actor, actress, film director, famous magician P C Sarker, poet, intellectuals also present in this rally.

SUDIPTA BASU
1ST SEPETEMBER, 2008

Calcutta High Court VERDICT on Singur land acquisition.

From THE TELEGRAPH

Issue Date: Monday , July 7 , 2008

Public purpose tag on Singur - Nano plant zips past legal hurdle

Calcutta, Jan. 18: Calcutta High Court today ruled that the Singur land acquisition “was made for the public purpose of employment generation and socio-economic development of the area”.

The verdict handed a morale-booster to Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s industrialisation drive and lifted the last vestiges of a cloud on the Tata small-car plant that will make the world’s cheapest car, the Nano.

The ruling also appeared to have taken the wind out of the sails of the Trinamul Congress’s campaign against the project. Mamata Banerjee said the Supreme Court would be moved but the local Trinamul MLA claimed the party would now focus on a “door-to-door” campaign, possibly signalling a shift from the occasional assaults on the factory walls.

The high court rejected the three main grounds on which 11 petitions — all were clubbed by the court — had challenged the acquisition of 997 acres in Singur for the Tata plant. All the petitions were dismissed today.

Besides turning down the petitioners’ contention that the acquisition was not for public purpose, the court threw out a claim that the government did not follow the legal procedure to buy land.
The third ground — that the government went beyond its jurisdiction — was also overruled.

“We hold that there was no colourable exercise of power by the state government while acquiring land at Singur,” the division bench of Chief Justice S.S. Nijjar and Justice Pinaki Ghosh said in the 217-page judgment.

“The term ‘colourable exercise of power’ means going beyond one’s jurisdiction. In this case, the judges meant that the government did not abuse its administrative power while acquiring the land,” said Subrata Mukhopadhyay, a high court lawyer.

Chief minister Bhattacharjee said he was “happy”. “The verdict will strengthen the state government’s drive for industrialisation in the greater interest of the people,” Bhattacharjee said. “I appeal to all who have not yet collected their compensation cheques to come forward and take them.”

Industries minister Nirupam Sen used the opportunity to hold out an olive branch to the sceptics.

“I request all political parties to come forward and co-operate. The government is sympathetic towards landlosers and is trying to find alternative livelihood for them,” Sen said.

CPM veteran Jyoti Basu “thanked” the high court. “Those who are opposed to development had filed the case. But the ruling will accelerate the pace of industrialisation.”

Elaborating on the ruling, Justice Pinaki Ghosh said: “We have gone through the submissions that were made by both the petitioners and the respondents (the state and the WBIDC) and found that the process adopted by the government during acquisition of land was just and in accordance with law.”

The petitioners had alleged that the government did not follow provisions of Part II and Part VII and Section 3 of the Land Acquisition Act of 1898. Part II deals with procedures to be followed while issuing notification, paying compensation and demarcating land.

Part VII states that the government cannot acquire land for a private company if the purpose is not in public interest. Section 3 focuses on development of an area and job generation.

The court has ruled that the state abided by all these provisions, advocate-general Balai Ray said after the judgment. “It has also approved the policy of generating employment by setting up industries,” he added.

The bench, however, said private petitioners who moved court for higher compensation could “approach the land acquisition collectorate”.

The court did not go into the government’s contention that the petitioners had no locus standi as it had allowed them to make submissions. The bench gave only the gist of the verdict, saying “details may be disclosed after carefully going through the judgment”.