Trinamool gives 7-day ultimatum to West Bengal govt

Singur controversy

Monday, 22 September , 2008, 00:05

Last Updated: Monday, 22 September , 2008, 10:13, PTI




Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress on Sunday served a week's ultimatum to the West Bengal government to accept its demands for returning land of "unwilling" farmers at Tata Motors' car plant site at Singur or face fresh agitation.

On the other hand, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee warned for the first time that the Tatas would leave the state if there was further delay in accepting the government's rehabilitation package for farmers.

Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee, however, gave the government a seven-day deadline to operationalise the September 7 agreement reached between her and Bhattacharjee in the presence of Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi or she would resume her suspended dharna outside the Tata Motors plant at Singur.

Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who a day earlier met the Governor to convey to him that he was open for talks with Trinamool Congress on the package that provides for 70 acres of land from within the Tata Motors car project area and compensation, appealed to the Opposition parties to withdraw their agitation and accept it.

"I appeal to Opposition parties to accept the government's package on the land acquisition at Singur for the Tata Motors factory and withdraw the agitation. If there is any further delay, this project will leave West Bengal," he said in a statement.

The Chief Minister's statement came in the backdrop of a number of states offering land and incentives to Tata Motors to set up the Nano car project there.