She, however, urged the Tatas to take an initiative to resolve the issue. Tata Motors can negotiate with the state government to shift their project site to some non-agricultural land, she said.
“We do not want the Tatas to leave West Bengal. We only want the excess land and the land of those farmers to be returned, whose land was forcibly acquired,” Banerjee said.
“Our protest will continue to secure the rights of the farmers. But it will be peaceful and Gandhian in nature,” she added.
She clarified that she was neither against industrialisation nor against any industrial house. “If the Tatas leave West Bengal, then the state government will be held responsible,” she said.
The Trinamool chief also asked the state government to disclose the details of its agreement with Tata Motors. “If the Left can withdraw support from the UPA on the ground that the Indo-US nuclear deal was not shown to them, then we can also demand the same,” she added.
Banerjee also denied the claim of the state Industry Minister Nirupam Sen that the government had invited her several times for talks on the Singur issue. “It is a blatant lie by the minister. No one has ever contacted me for any discussion on the issue,” she said.