जिसने सिंगूर में नहीं लगने दिया था टाटा मोटर्स का प्लांट, आज उसी ममता बनर्जी ने रतन टाटा के निधन पर जताया शोक

New Delhi. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has expressed grief over the demise of industrialist Ratan Tata. He described Ratan Tata as a “prominent leader of Indian industries and a social worker”. As soon as the news of the demise of the 86-year-old industrialist spread, Mamata Banerjee wrote on social media, “Saddened by the demise of Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons. The former chairman of Tata Group was a prominent leader of Indian industries and a philanthropist. His demise is an irreparable loss for the Indian business world and society. My condolences are with his family and colleagues.”

Mamata Banerjee’s agitation in Singur against land acquisition for the Tata Motors plant had forced the Tata Group to transfer the project to Sanand in Gujarat. At that time, the CPM government was in power under the leadership of late Buddhadev Bhattacharya. The Singur movement was one of the major reasons Mamata Banerjee challenged the three-decade-long Left rule and ultimately ended it in the 2011 state elections. His rivals have often claimed that Tata’s exit from the state in 2008 harmed Bengal’s chances of becoming an industrial hub.

In a press meet in October 2008, Ratan Tata decided to transfer the Tata Motors plant out of Bengal. He had said, “We have decided to take the Nano project out of West Bengal. This is an extremely painful decision, but there was no other option. “We also feel that we are doing the right thing.” Referring to Mamata Banerjee’s movement, he had said, “You cannot run a plant with police protection. We cannot run the plant with broken walls. We cannot run the project with bombs being thrown. We cannot run the plant by scaring people.”

Subsequent court decisions declared the land acquisition illegal and ordered the return of the land to its owners. Last year, Tata Motors won an arbitral award of ₹766 crore in the Singur plant case as compensation for losses related to the car manufacturing facility.

Tags: Mamata Bannerjee, Ratan father