Calcutta, Oct. 5: A downcast Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today put up a brave face on the Singur shock, saying he didn’t believe that Tata Motors’ exit marked the end of his industrialisation drive.

“We have lost one battle, but the war is not lost,” the chief minister said in his first public speech, two days after Ratan Tata’s pullout declaration.

In the first throes of disappointment, industries minister Nirupam Sen had said yesterday he was in no mood to think about industrialisation any more. But Bhattacharjee tried to look ahead through the gloom.

“The Tatas have withdrawn the Nano project… just before the festive season. But Ratan Tata has assured me he is not leaving for ever and will reinvest in the future,” he said at the foundation stone-laying ceremony for an IT special economic zone, Orion Techcity, in Rajarhat.

He said he would continue scouting for investment.

Sen, too, shook off his despondence today and spoke of future investment hope, declined to return the acquired land to the farmers — a demand on which Mamata Banerjee wants to prolong her agitation — and said there can be no talks with the Opposition on the issue any more.

Bhattacharjee looked grim during the 60 minutes he spent on the dais at Rajarhat. He entered the venue and folded his hands in a namaskar but the smile was missing. He then walked briskly towards the dais and sat down next to foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee.

The chief minister sat wearing a blank expression as other speakers, including IT minister Debesh Das, made their speeches. Occasionally, he leaned towards Mukherjee and spoke a few words.

Orion Techcity, a 155-acre commercial and integrated SEZ, is estimated to attract investment worth $1.2 billion (Rs 5,652 crore) when it comes up in 10 years in five phases. Bhattacharjee’s fondness for the IT sector is well known, but Singur dominated his thinking today.

During his 15-minute speech, he said the state’s “right-thinking people” were “unhappy” in the festive season because of the Opposition’s “irresponsible” behaviour.

“People in all parts of the country are wondering what is happening in Bengal,” he said. “Agriculture has been a success in our state, and based on that we are trying to build industry. Industrialisation is a must for providing jobs.”