Mamata to continue Singur ‘struggle’ holds emergency meet

A day after the Calcutta High Court squashed the Singur Act terming it  ‘unconstitutional and void’, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held an emergency meeting, here on Saturday, to chalk out future course of action here on Saturday. 

The meeting called by the TMC was attended by state ministers, intellectuals and organisations that had protested against forcible land acquisition in Singur, alongside Didi. On Saturday, Mamata once again thanked people for the ‘overwhelming response’ to the Singur issue that ‘touched’ her through social networking site Facebook.  

She may once again don the role of the Opposition leader by pledging to continue the ‘struggle for the cause of farmers’.

“Your moral support at this juncture is a great source of inspiration to continue our struggle for the cause of farmers. Singur land movement is a turning point in the recent history. The sensitivity to land primarily in our agrarian economy has come to the forefront out of our fight on the Singur land issue, during which I was on 26 days’ hunger strike. That movement started a serious debate in the country on the issue of land acquisition from small poor and marginal farmers,” she posted on Facebook.

It was decided in the meeting that while the legal battle would continue, there would also be mass protests at the grassroots level. Protecting the interests of the farmers was given paramount importance at the meeting.

Interestingly with the TMC in power, the agitation cannot be directed at the state government, but it would be rather to boost the farmers’ issue. The farmers in Singur have been festering resentment against the TMC-led Government as it has failed to return the land till now.

In a bid to appease the disgruntled masses, Pranab had earlier announced a monthly stipend of `1,000 to every family and 2-kg rice at `2 per kg. The decision to renew the agitation is once again a way to reconnect with those unhappy masses.

At the end of the meeting, representatives of the Singur Krishi Jami Raksha Committee (Singur Committee to Protect Agricultural Land) said that the path to agitation had been considered.

“We have discussed the matter. We will sit down for talks again after 17 days. We will be going to Singur. While the legal route is there, there will be agitations as well,” said a representative.