Even as she described Wednesday's triple success as a victory for the three Ms- Ma-Mati and Manush, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that the pronouncement of the Singur verdict made it a day of justice for the world's farming community. It is a positive verdict, she said.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh rang in the afternoon to congratulate Ms. Banerjee on her electoral victory, sources at the Secretariat said. Ms. Banerjee was elected to become a legislator on Wednesday.
Talking to reporters at the State Secretariat, after a short trip home following the announcement of the Assembly election results, Ms. Banerjee said: “Return of land at Singur is our aim. These three victories (the Singur verdict and the two Assembly election results) is a victory for three Ms- Ma Mati Manush (the Trinamool Congress credo meaning Mother-land-mankind),” she said.
“People the best judge”
She added that critics of this ethos should now understand that there is nothing bigger than these three sentiments. “People are the best judges,” she remarked.
On the Singur verdict, she said: “While the unwilling farmers in Singur will have to wait for a month to get back their land, the verdict is a victory- a special day of justice for those people in the world who eke out a livelihood from farming.”
Noting that Singur was the turning point in the agitation over forcible acquisition of land, Ms. Banerjee said that Nandigram followed Singur and her party has expressed itself against Special Economic Zones. It had also demanded a recast of the Draft Land Acquisition Bill being formulated by the Centre.
Mentioning the criticism levelled against the government for rushing with the Singur legislation, she said: “The Court has proved that we were on the right track. People criticising our approach should now be silenced.” Reiterating that mistakes come only when some action is taken, she invoked Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose to buttress her argument on working at jet speed, even at the risk of erring.
“You do not take speedy actions, you do not commit any mistakes either ... you only sleep on decisions and engage in politicking – this is hardly the right way to go about things,” she said in a snide remark on her predecessors' way of governance.
