Ashok Ghosh

Calcutta, April 11: Forward Bloc leader Ashok Ghosh today appeared to criticise the Left Front’s land policy in Singur, saying the Tatas had to pull out of the Hooghly pocket because of the farmers’ “curse”.

“Agricultural land can be taken from farmers only after talking to them and discussing the matter with local peasants’ organisations. Otherwise, problems are bound to crop up. We saw the Tatas leaving Singur… that was because of the farmers’ curse. There’s no doubt about it,’’ the state Bloc secretary said at a news conference in Calcutta’s Press Club, asked about his party’s stand on the land acquisition issue.

“Days after it was decided that the Tatas would set up a car (Nano) factory in Singur, I was passing by the proposed site of the plant. Because of my poor eyesight, I couldn’t see much and so I asked my fellow-travellers what they saw there.

“They told me vegetables had been cultivated on the land. I had then remarked that the Tatas may run the factory but with the farmers’ curse. Ultimately, it turned out to be true.’’

Told that chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had spoken of plans to set up industries in Singur, Ghosh said: “He can always say that. Industry is always welcome. But the fact is that the Tatas had to pull out of Singur and shifted to Gujarat silently.’’

The Bloc leader praised the Centre’s efforts to formulate a new legislation on land purchase by amending the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. “It’s a good step. It’s good that the Centre is trying to make a new land acquisition act. But any central legislation in this regard cannot be wholly applicable to our state because land fragmentation is high here and that’s why we have small plots,” he said.

Ghosh said that in Bengal, it was “difficult not to acquire small plots”. “But no acquisition can be done without consulting the farmers,’’ he added.

However, in a meeting in Vijayawada last year, the CPM leadership had decided that the land of small farmers would not be taken. CPM state secretariat member Gautam Deb has countered that stand, saying that in Bengal, 85 per cent of the land belonged to small farmers. “We will have to try to avoid taking the land of small peasants. But can we say that land of unwilling farmers will never be taken if an important road or highway needs to be constructed?” Deb had said.

Describing the Assembly elections as “the Kurukshetra war”, Bloc leader Ghosh said: “It’s between the forces of good and evil. I urge the people to defeat the evil forces such as the Congress-Trinamul Congress alliance.’’