16 years on, Bengal now a leading agri state: Mamata

KOLKATA: Recollecting the ‘barbaric attacks on hapless farmers of Bengal’ on Nandigram Diwas (March 14), Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee said that 16 years after the incident, Bengal has emerged as a leading agricultural state that ‘empowers its farmers and enables them to lead dignified lives.’

“March 14 marks a black day in Bengal’s history. It is a grim reminder of the barbaric attacks on hapless farmers of Bengal, of the 14 martyrs of Nandigram and the countless villagers who were subjected to state-sponsored violence,” Banerjee tweeted.

She further added: “16 years later, Bengal has emerged as a leading agricultural state that empowers its farmers and enables them to lead dignified lives. Nandigram Diwas is a bold testament to our indomitable fighting spirit and unrelenting zeal to secure every resident of the state.”

Banerjee had spearheaded the movement as the Opposition leader against the erstwhile Left Front government’s acquisition of arable land in Nandigram and Singur for industrialisation.

Trinamool Congress and BJP-locked horns on Tuesday as both parties sought the legacy of the anti-land acquisition movement at Nandigram on its 16th anniversary.

TMC observes March 14 as ‘Nandigram Diwas’ since it came to power in Bengal in 2011 to pay its respect to the 14 who were killed in the police firing during the anti-land acquisition stir in the area in 2007.

Senior Trinamool leader and state Finance minister Chandrima Bhattacharya visited Nandigram on Tuesday morning and paid floral tributes to the martyrs. She also met their families.

The Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, organised rallies in Nandigram area of Purba Medinipur district to commemorate the day. “The Nandigram movement was not a movement of any particular party but of the locals. It is a heroic tale of resilience and struggle of the poor people of Nandigram but one political party derived benefits from this people’s movement,” Adhikari said in an oblique reference to TMC.

Bhattacharya, however, hits back at Adhikari’s innuendo by saying that her party didn’t need lessons on Nandigram or the movement from ‘traitors.’

‘The Nandigram movement would not have happened had Mamata Banerjee not been there. So those trying to appropriate the legacy of Nandigram are insulting the people’s movement,” she said. She alleged that the BJP leader and his family were the “biggest beneficiaries” of the movement which was led by the Trinamool supremo.

Senior TMC leader and state Agriculture minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay also hit out at Adhikari saying that the opposition leader may try to shift to Trinamool in the next one year.