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Govt rejects CPM land act tweak plan
-The Telegraph

Industries minister Partha Chatterjee today turned down a suggestion by CPM leader Surjya Kanta Mishra to follow the Tamil Nadu model by amending the central land acquisition act to fulfil its objective of returning land to Singur’s farmers instead of battling it out in court.

The leader of the Opposition also assured Chatterjee that the Left Front would support the state government in the Assembly if it agreed to introduce such an amendment.

“If you want to return land to the farmers, bring an amendment in the ongoing session, give us five days’ time to study it and we will support it. If there are options of settling the matter outside court, we are willing to support it,” Mishra said during the debate on the budgets of the departments of commerce and industries, industrial reconstruction and public enterprises.

Chatterjee refused to reply to the suggestion, saying: “The time has not yet come to judge whether the verdict was correct or not. When the single bench of Calcutta High Court ruled in the state’s favour, nobody said a word. Many doors are open and we will find a path.”

When the Mamata Banerjee government passed the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011, Mishra had objected, saying the state should follow the Tamil Nadu model. “I have been repeatedly saying this,” Mishra had said.

Land department sources said the Tamil Nadu government had brought two state amendments to the central Land Acquisition Act, 1894, to return land to the erstwhile owners. The southern state had got the President’s assent.

A senior CPM leader said Mishra’s suggestion was “nothing new”. “When the Singur bill was introduced in the Assembly, we had repeatedly said we were not opposed to return of land to farmers. We were opposed to the Singur act as it was unconstitutional. The state should follow the Tamil Nadu model. The amendment bill should be sent for presidential assent as it clashes with the central land acquisition act,” he said.

The leader said that at the politburo and central committee meetings in Hyderabad in 2011, the CPM had come to the conclusion that the party was not opposed to land return to both unwilling and willing farmers. “We had agreed that if land is to be returned, it should be returned to all farmers in Singur,” the CPM leader said.

But he said land should not be returned through the “unconstitutional” Singur act. “A new, and constitutional, amendment bill should be brought and it should be sent to the President for assent.”

The CPM also wants the government to make its stand clear on whether it is prepared for a legal battle or it wants to settle the dispute with Tata Motors out of court. “The government cannot move the Supreme Court and bring a fresh law simultaneously,” a senior CPM MLA said.

The Congress also suggested an out-of-court settlement with the Tatas. Congress MLA Rabindranath Chatterjee said in the Assembly: “I request the minister (Partha Chatterjee) to see whether an out-of-court settlement is possible. Otherwise, it will take a long time to solve the problem.”

The minister did not respond.

Visit to governor

Minister Chatterjee this evening called on governor M.K. Narayanan, who has been criticised by some Trinamul leaders for responding to questions on the Singur law.

“The governor’s comment has led to confusion and given a handle to the Left to embarrass our government. The minister requested him to make a statement to clear the controversy,” a senior Trinamul leader claimed.

Neither Chatterjee nor the Raj Bhavan issued any statement after the meeting.

In response to a question on the sidelines of a programme on Monday, the governor had said: “I thought we did not require the President’s approval. That was the legal advice also. If the high court felt otherwise, it’s fine. What can we do?”

A Trinamul source said the governor told Chatterjee that he did not make any statement. “The governor said he had merely stated facts while answering a question,” a source said. The claim could not be confirmed with Raj Bhavan officials.