Despite a major setback to the party following the Supreme Court order quashing the then Left Front government’s land acquisition in Singur for the Tata Motors’ small car factory, Communist Party of India (Marxist) State secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra defended the takeover.
In an article in the party’s mouthpiece Ganashakti on Sunday, Dr. Mishra argued that land acquisition for “industry and infrastructure” was necessary.
He criticised the Trinamool Congress government’s stand that it had no role in land acquisition for industry. Sucha policy would leave the farmers at the mercy of the land mafia. “Land has to be acquired for industry or projects of public interest as well as infrastructure while safeguarding the farmers’ interests, Dr. Mishra said.
‘For job-oriented growth’He defended the decision to acquire land at Singur in 2007 and said it was done to usher in “job-oriented industrialisation and reduce pressure on agriculture.”
However, he admitted that there were flaws in the land acquisition process.
