Thaindian News

Singur (West Bengal), June 14 (IANS) Slogans rang out, people celebrated with colour and cried with joy as the Singur bill that the West Bengal government expects will pave the way for returning land to the unwilling farmers was passed by the state assembly Tuesday.

“We are very happy today. It is happiest day of my life I will again get back the land of my forefathers. I will able to cultivate my land,” said one of the unwilling farmers who had refused to take the compensation cheque after his land was forcefully taken by the Left Front government for the proposed Tata Nano car plant.

An air of festivity also prevailed across the Singur’s Nano Car plant site, 40 kms from Kolkata in Hooghly district, as the news of the passage of Singur Bill was flashed across the news channels. Jubilant Trinamool supporters showered green ‘gulaal’, or coloured powder, on each other and offered sweets.

“We are happy that our movement against the forceful land acquisition has borne fruit. We are just waiting for the day when we get back our land,” said another Singur farmer who had been unwilling to give up his land.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, decimated in the 2006 Assembly polls, saw its political graph climb again after it spearheaded a peasants agitation against the state government’s acquisition of land for the Nano project demanding that 400 acres out of a total 997.11 acres be returned to farmers as it was taken against “their will”.

Faced with the sustained and intense protests, Tata Motors shifted the plant to Sanand in Gujarat. The agitation helped in turning the fortunes for Trinamool, which in later years went from strength to strength to unseat the 34-year-old Left front government in the April-May assembly elections and take over power in alliance with the Congress.

“I still remember those days of the first week of September when we along with Didi (Banerjee) sat for the agitation outside the Tata car plant. I think our agitation has yielded results at last,” said another unwilling farmer.

“The previous Left Front government forcefully took our land but Didi has returned our land and we are grateful to her,” said a middle-aged farmer.

Trinamool Congress supporters also used firecrackers to add fuel to the celebrations. Several TV sets and chairs were arranged near the abandoned Tata Nano factory site where the farmers and their family members witnessed the passage of the bill.

There were unending shouts of “Maa Mati Manush” (Mother, Soil, People) - Banerjee’s pet slogan.

“We want our land to be returned to us in such a condition so that we can cultivate on that land,” said another farmer.

Last week Banerjee had announced that her government will bring a Singur bill to return the 400 acres of land to the unwilling farmers in the budget session of the state assembly.

Returning 400 acres to the farmers was one of the major promises of the Trinamool Congress. Hours after being sworn in as chief minister May 20, Banerjee presided over a cabinet meeting that unanimously resolved to return the land.