New Delhi, Oct. 5: Mamata Banerjee has caused a huge loss to Bengal, but she may still be a long way from winning anything for her “unwilling” landlosers.

State industries minister Nirupam Sen today said there was no question of returning the acquired land in Singur, and that the government would not talk to the Opposition on the matter.

“The present owner of the land is the state government. There is no legal provision by which one can return the land to the farmers or to the previous owners,” Sen wrote in an article to be published in the next issue of CPM mouthpiece People’s Democracy.

Mamata had yesterday said she would resume her agitation after the pujas demanding return of the plots that were “forcibly acquired”, and might call on the Prime Minister and the President to try and gain their support.

But Sen wrote: “There is really no need now more than ever to enter into any dialogue with the Opposition any longer (on return of land). The court of law shall hold on to the cheques of those who had not accepted them for whatever reason.”

Sen’s aggressive article comes a day after he had said despondently that he didn’t want to think about industrialisation any more, suggesting a change in mood.

Yesterday, he had turned down an assignment from the party’s Bengali newspaper, Ganashakti, to pen a piece on industrialisation.

In his People’s Democracy article, he spoke of a new determination: “Nevertheless, not all this shall ever signify that the industrialists concerned with ongoing and future projects shall all go away from this state. The process of industrialisation in Bengal on a sound and expanding agrarian base is important and emergent. We shall have to traverse along this path.”

He tore into the Opposition and spoke of a political campaign against its “negative” agitation.

“However, we have not an iota of doubt in our hearts and minds that the negative agitationists’ movement shall be met politically. People must come forward. The campaign-movement that would soon unfurl across the state and in the country must be conducted amidst the people, with the people.”

Sen said the state government didn’t “support” the Tatas’ decision to pull out but realised that “there is a timeframe fixed for the production of the small car… things were already running behind schedule”.