CM singles out Jamait

KOLKATA, Jan. 7: Chief minister Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today blamed the Jamait-Ulema-i-Hind for resorting to a “communal campaign” to incite violence in Nandigram. He said: “Quite a few political parties, including Trinamul Congress, Congress, Suci and Naxalites joined the (anti-land acquisition) campaign to spread confusion. Jamait in particular started an ugly communal campaign. This (six deaths) is an unfortunate incident, no matter activists of which party perished in the clash.”

He added that all political parties were invited for discussions with the district magistrate tomorrow and that police have been asked to take it easy. In a remarkable departure from the fiery defence of Singur acquisition, the chief minister said: “Given the importance of the project for a chemical hub and an SEZ (in Haldia) and the nature of the land there, if the locals allow the project to take off, it may turn out to be the most important industrial hub in the country.” At a DYFI rally here earlier, he said: “We recently secured the people’s mandate to industrialise the state on the basis of our success in agriculture... I appeal to the Opposition not to go for bandhs such as the one called tomorrow since the people don’t want them.

”Aware of the backlash that his industrialisation initiatives had triggered in the rural areas, he reminded the CPI’M’s youth activists that his party and other LF partners had waged a struggle since the 1960s to transfer land from rich land owners to poor farmers and that during three decades of LF rule, 78 per cent of farmland had been turned over to poor farmers.