Trinamool plans fresh protests over Singur

KOLKATA: The Trinamool Congress is gearing up to start fresh protests against the “forcible” acquisition of farm land at Singur for a Tata Motors car plant, with the party’s youth wing slated to organise a procession here.

Major city streets are likely to be affected as the protests kick off on January two with the procession culminating in a rally in the Metro Channel where Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee had undertaken a 25-day fast.

The leader of the party’s youth wing, Madan Mitra, on Sunday said the procession, which would highlight the “two-faced profile” of chief minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee with two sets of people marching, one with their faces painted white and the other black.

This, Mr Mitra explained, would represent Mr Bhattacharya’s offer for talks on one hand and repressive measures like extending prohibitory orders for 20 days at Singur on the other. “Buddhababu has turned into a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde,” he alleged.

Lifting of prohibitory orders is one of the party’s demands, Mr Mitra said. He emphasised that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his letter asking Ms Banerjee to end her fast had said that the chief minister had assured him of being ready to discuss all issues with her regarding the acquisition of land. The government’s extension of prohibitory orders was inhuman, he said.