‘Don’t trust Buddhadeb on land acquisition’

Mamata said: “The chief minister is misleading you. The land for this chemical hub in Nayachar is not adequate. Sooner or later, he will look at Nandigram and hand over your land to the Salim Group.” The Trinamool chief was addressing a rally at Garchakraberia village to mark a year of protests against the state government's move to acquire farmland for industry.

Mamata scoffed at the chief minister's suggestion in his last meeting here that the Bhoomi Uchched Pratirodh Committee (BUPC) should be dismantled for a peace committee. “The BUPC cannot be wound up. It will continue its vigil and also maintain peace in Nandigram,” the leader said.

She then turned her ire on her pet bashing post -- the state police. “Stop siding with the administration. If you want to do so, shed your uniform and take up the Marxist flag,” she said, adding that Bhattacharjee had done precious little to punish the guilty officers who had opened fire on March 14, killing 14 people.

“He has not given compensation to affected villagers, even rape victims. I will move court if the tortured are not compensated soon,” she said. She added it would be a disaster if the CRPF is withdrawn from here.

Mamata also ridiculed the state government's charge that Maoists had colonised Nandigram.

“If so, then why hasn't the government banned this Maoist outfit? Actually, the government has not been able to prove any Maoist connection to violence here,” she said.

Before the huge crowd, which also drew from the CPI(M)'s stronghold Khejuri, Mamata Banerjee announced her future plans to give the plight of Nandigram some national exposure. She said she would hit streets in Delhi on January 21 to talk about what has happened in Nandigram.

This will be followed by a rally at Khejuri on February 1. The Trinamool leader also plans to observe Shahid Diwas (Martyrs’ Day) in Nandigram on February 7.