KOLKATA: Firebrand Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said she doesn't want Tatas to abandon their 'Nano' car plant in Singur, but was firm that they surrender a portion of the land acquired for the facility.
"We do not want anyone to leave. But at the same time, we don't want the people also to leave the state," she said, asking Tata Motors to return 400 acress of the 1,000 acres it acquired for setting up a plant to manufacture the world's cheapest car.
Commenting on a media report that the Tatas might pull out of Singur in the state, she told reporters that her party was not opposed to the 600 acres that was acquired for the small-car unit. The ancillary units could be located nearby.
Banerjee said that the Tatas should listen to the voice of the people and tell the government to return the 400 acres which she claimed was "forcibly acquired."
She said that the indefinite agitation around the Tata project at Singur would be launched on August 24 as announced earlier. "We are protesting against forcible acquisition of 400 acres and we will launch satyagraha (following Mahatma) Gandhiji's footsteps," she said.
Refuting CPI-M's charges, she said that her party was not creating any unrest and organised the movement in a peaceful manner in the past two and a half years. "It is the state government and the CPI-M which are causing provocation", she charged.
Tata Motors Managing Director Ravi Kant had last month said that "we will continue as long as our patience lasts," triggering speculation that the company might leave West Bengal.
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