Since the Trinamool Congress regime taking the reins of West Bengal, rivals have accused chief minister Mamata Banerjee of playing fast and loose with facts of history. From Rabindranath Tagore breaking Mahatma Gandhi’s fast with a glass of “nimbu pani” in 1947 (the renowned poet died in 1941) to the Nobel laureate writing a song after meeting the Independence icon in 1932 (“Jiban jakhan shukaye jay” was in fact written in 1910), the TMC chairperson has on several occasions made statements that have sparked controversies. But, on Wednesday, her remarks went contrary to her own place in history.
“It’s not me. The Tatas were driven out of the state by the CPI(M),” she said in Siliguri on Wednesday. “Some people are talking nonsense that I drove Tata away, and Tata is now hiring people. I didn’t chase away Tata, CPI(M) did. They went to occupy people’s land by force. We have returned the land to the farmers. There is no scarcity of land, then why take land by force? We have created many projects, but we have not forcibly taken land anywhere.”
In October 2008, Tata Motors pulled the plug on manufacturing the Nano car in Bengal after its planned factory facing protests in Singur, Hooghly district.
According to a news report, before leaving the state in 2008, Ratan Tata said, “I had told earlier that we would have to move out of Singur if the agitation continued and the security of our employees and contractors were compromised. I had then hoped for understanding from Mamata Banerjee and had hoped that the agitations would stop. But they only increased. And we are very sorry for taking this decision, but we were left with no choice.”
Here’s a timeline of the Singur saga between 2006 and 2016-
May 18, 2006: Ratan Tata of Tata Motors announces Nano plant in Singur, West Bengal
May 25, 2006: Protest started by TMC against acquisition of 997 acres of land
December 3-29, 2006: Indefinite hunger strike by Mamata Banerjee on Singur issue
January 21, 2007: After acquisition of land, work of fencing started
March 9, 2007: Tatas got handover of the land
March 12-25, 2007: A series of unwanted incidents like suicide of farmers, attack on factories, many workers injured
January 18, 2008: Calcutta High Court upholds Singur land acquisition process, saying it is legal
February 15, 2008: Tatas announce first Nano to be launched from Singur by October 2008
May 21, 2008: TMC wins majority in panchayat elections
June 27-August 20, 2008: Peace meeting between Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Mamata Banerjee fails
August 22, 2008: Tatas give ultimatum that they will shift project to another state
September 2, 2008: Tata Motors suspends work on Nano Plant at Singur and starts searching for a new place
September 3, 2008: Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the then governor of Bengal, plays mediator between state government and TMC to resolve Singur issue
October 7, 2008: Tata Motors announces new Nano Plant in Sanand, Gujarat
September 1, 2009: Ratan Tata raises issue of compensation with West Bengal government
May 20, 2011: Mamata Banerjee ends 34 years of Left Front rule in state and takes CM’s chair, announces first cabinet decision to return 400 acres of land to farmers
June 9, 2011: Mamata passes an ordinance, takes over 997 acres showing non-performance by Tata Motors
June 13, 2011: Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Bill, 2011, passes through legislative assembly
June 22, 2011: Tata Motors moves Calcutta High Court, challenging new Bill
June 29, 2011: Supreme Court directs Bengal government stop allocating land at Singur till further order from Calcutta High Court
September 28, 2011: Single-judge (Justice IP Mukerji) Calcutta High Court bench sustains Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011
November 1, 2011: Tata Motors challenges the HC order and moves division bench
June 22, 2012: State government loses case and division bench of Calcutta High Court strikes down Bill, saying it is unconstitutional
August 6, 2012: Bengal government moves Supreme Court, challenging HC decision
Nov 12, 2013: Tata Motors informs Supreme Court it wants to hold land in Singur for Nano project
August 31, 2016: SC observes land acquisition process during Left Front government not as per law and directs Tatas to return land within 12 weeks
Reacting to Mamata Banerjee’s comments on the Tata issue, senior CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said, “The chief minister is lying. She means that at that time, the one who sat on strike against the Tata project in Singur was not Mamata Banerjee, but Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. Those who blocked the Durgapur Expressway were CPI(M) party workers. Mamata Banerjee was also abroad. Tata said Mamata Banerjee pulled the trigger. That was also wrong.”
He alleged that there is unemployment in the state just because of the TMC chief. According to him, in the last 11 years, not a single new factory has been established in Bengal. The youth of the state are suffering as they are forced to go away from their home for jobs, he said.
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