‘We don't talk, we work’: Mamata Banerjee promises jobs in Singur, hits back at BJP

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sent out a strong message on employment while inaugurating a series of development projects in Singur, Hooghly district, on Wednesday. Emphasising that her government believed in jobs for youth in the area, she said, “We want our young generation to progress.” Mamata also spoke about the state government setting up an agro-industrial park over eight acres for which Rs 9.2 crore has been sanctioned.

“Amazon, Flipkart are setting up big warehousing facilities, which we have already cleared. We don’t talk; we work. They stopped the 100-day work. They removed Mahatma Gandhi’s name; we started the Mahatma Shree Kamrashree project. 100-day work is ongoing in West Bengal with the state government’s money,” she said.

Mamata’s Singur visit and announcement of several projects came 10 days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Singur visit. The PM’s speech, however, lacked specific industry-related projects, particularly bringing back one of the country’s biggest industrialists, the Tatas, back to Singur after the exit of their Nano car factory and ancillary units to be set up over 997 acres of land. Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar had indicated the possibility of the Tatas coming back to Singur a few days ahead of the PM’s visit, which instilled hope in a section of farmers who supported BJP’s idea. The farmers hoped it would result in their educated children getting jobs, with many still unemployed.

Her anti-farmland acquisition stance and her support for farmers unwilling to give up their land, who faced atrocities during the erstwhile CPI(M) regime in West Bengal, propelled her party, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), to power in 2011, ending the 34-year-old Left Front rule. “Singur is my favourite place. It was a very big part of my movement. I have spent many days in Singur from 2006-2008; I have been on the road,” said Mamata, who went on a 26-day hunger strike to mark her protest. In October 2008, Ratan Tata, the erstwhile chairman of Tata Motors, announced the exit of the Nano car factory, citing an inconducive atmosphere for workers amid protests.

The CM also announced that apart from 12 lakh rural families who have received money to build houses under the state government scheme, an additional 20 lakh households will receive money. “Today money will reach 20 lakh bank accounts, which means the number has become 32 lakh in two months,” Mamata added.

However, Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari rubbished her claims. “Mamata has gone to Singur saying she will give 20 lakh households money. We can say this is loot,” said Adhikari, who called this an eyewash, as there are no houses that have been built in the past as claimed. “As leader of the opposition, I can say no one inch of land has been given,” Adhikari said. He termed Singur a graveyard after the ousting of the Tatas in 2008.