Aug. 10: Singur is becoming a punching bag for parties desperately seeking attention.

Over 50 Congress supporters today marched towards the Tata Motors project, planted a flag half a kilometre from the site and dispersed, apparently to “gain a foothold” in the region where Mamata Banerjee has consolidated her hold.

Over 1,000 Congress workers marched in a procession from Khaserchak, down a 2km road towards the main gate of plant. Police allowed 50 of them to raise the flag 500 metres from the project.

The programme was organised by former MLA Abdul Mannan, who has been trying to return to the limelight. “We shall go for a bigger movement in the coming days demanding return of the land forcibly acquired,” he said.

A Congress leader said in Calcutta that today’s demonstration was organised to help the party gain a foothold in Singur.

The protest by the Congress came a day after state party president Priya Ranjan Das Munshi said his party would launch an agitation demanding return of 400 acres “forcibly acquired” from unwilling farmers.

Das Munshi had also suggested that a meeting of the unwilling farmers, the Tatas and the state government be convened.

The Congress procession was not the only one in Singur today. About 2,000 members of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the youth wing of the CPM, organised a rally in Singur to protest Trinamul Congress workers’ attempts to disrupt the project.

Trinamul MLA Partha Chatterjee had yesterday said that his party would not allow Tata Motors to roll out the Nano car from anywhere in the state.

“Going by Chatterjee’s words, it is clear the Trina-mul is opposed to the state’s industrialisation,” said DYFI state secretary Abhas Roy Chowdhury.