FTN: Taken for a ride in WB, Tata should say bye

DRIVEN TO LIMITS: Face the Nation panelists attempt to find an answer to whether Tata should pull out of Singur.

          

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The industry-farmer face-off continues in Singur. A day after Tata Motors expressed its intent to pull out the Nano plant from Singur, West Bengal Governor Gopal Gandhi on Wednesday took the lead in trying to resolve the crisis.

Sources tell CNN-IBN the Governor is planning to set up a 10-member committee to find a solution to the crisis. Five people on the committee will be representatives of the state government and the other five from the Trinamool Congress-led protest group.

The Governor also met Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Partha Chatterjee as part of efforts to identify a mediator to resolve the Singur crisis.

He has also invited former Bombay High Court Chief Justice Chittatosh Mukherjee, apparently to seek legal opinion on selecting a mediator.

But the larger question remains if Tata should pull out of Singur. What would it mean for Brand Bengal and how would that impact industrialistion in the state? CNN-IBN show Face the Nation attempted to find answers to some of those questions with a panel comprising Chatterjee, CPM MP Tapan Sen; adman Suhel Seth and former MD, Maruti Udyog, Jagdish Khattar.

There are rumours the TMC “movement” against the Tatas is witnessing a slow but steady divide, with many labour unions reportedly expressing support for the group.

But Chatterjee refused to admit that TMC was losing popular support. “People are with us. Lakhs are joining us daily. But the government and CPM are preaching to people that we (TMC) are against industrialisation and development. This is propaganda,” he defended.

However, none can negate or counter the fact that TMC has swept the local-body elections in Nandigram and Singur, indicating it commands a considerable clout in the region. The Left, in a certain sense, seems to have been unable to win over the masses in these crucial areas.

But Tapan Sen said it had been some time since that TMC victory. “We are in a different situation because of their irresponsible behaviour. They put us in a situation where state’s industrialisation was put in jeopardy.,” he alleged, claiming people who once supported Trinamool were turning against it.