Singur stir may haunt Mamata Bannerjee

KOLKATA: After Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee began the process of returning farmland acquired for Tata Nano plant in Singur in September, five land agitations have sprung up and might come back to haunt the Trinamool Congress, which was catapulted to power on the basis of Singur agitation.

Bengal has seen at least five land agitations in last two weeks. There have been at least six such agitations since September.

The first victim of Singur verdict has been Banerjee’s brain child ‘Mishti Hub’ in Burdwan. It was followed by a land return protest in Purulia and the latest being a five —day long protest in Rajarhat-Newtown area, the chief minister’s showpiece IT town.

Banerjee’s worst fear came true with land agitations taking place in several corners of the state, including in the city. The protesters are referring to Singur verdict by the Supreme Court and staging dharnas near government offices.

Though Banerjee relocated her Mishti Hub from Burdwan to Rajarhat, paying heed to the demand of the land owners, she maintained a stoic silence over other land agitations taking place in districts likePurulia, Birbhum, North 24 Paragana, Kolkata and Darjeeling.