Mamata Banerjee boasts about driving TATA Motors away from Singur, netizens remind her how Bengal has remained poor

On December 4, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee celebrated the 16-year anniversary of her starvation strike that led to the exodus of Tata Motors from the state. In a tweet, she wrote, “16 years ago today, I began my hunger strike for the farmers of Singur & the rest of the nation. It was my moral duty to fight for those who were left helpless due to the greed of the powerful. That fight in me lives on. I’ll never let the rights of my people be threatened!”

16 yrs in the past in the present day, I started my starvation strike for the farmers of Singur & remainder of the nation.

It was my ethical obligation to combat for many who had been left helpless as a result of greed of the highly effective.

That combat in me lives on. I’ll by no means let the rights of my folks be threatened!

— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) December 4, 2022
The exit of Tata Motors from West Bengal

Between 2006 and 2008, Tata Motors tried to start out a producing plant in West Bengal. In 2006, land acquisition for a Tata Motors plant started in Bengal. The land was acquired by the state authorities, and in 2007, Tata Motors started the ceremonial development of the plant. However, controversy over the land acquisition course of triggered issues with the completion of the mission.

At that point, CM Mamata Banerjee was the chief of the opposition. Tata was planning to start out a producing plant for Tata Nano in Singur, West Bengal. Banerjee was the chief of the opposition within the state. During the method of acquisition of land in earlier years, large protests erupted towards the Tata manufacturing plant and the state authorities. It was alleged that the state authorities had forcefully acquired multi-crop land from landowners at an insufficient value.

There was an enormous protest towards land acquisition for the Tata Manufacturing plant. This protest escalated into violence and bloodshed when police forces underneath the Left Front authorities opened hearth on the protesters. Mamata Banerjee, because the chief of the opposition, led the cost towards the identical.

She turned the frontrunner of the protests and began a motion known as “Save Farmland”. Soon, high-profile skilled protesters like Medha Patkar, Arundhati Roy and Anuradha Talwar joined the protests to drive Tata Motors away from the state. Following the uproar, Tata Motors lastly determined to cancel the mission in West Bengal in September 2008 and began the method for a similar in Gujarat’s Sanand. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat at the moment.

“Welcome to Gujarat”: Said the then CM Narendra Modi

As the story goes, when Ratan Tata introduced in a press convention in Kolkata that Tata Group was leaving West Bengal, then-CM Modi despatched an SMS to Ratan Tata and mentioned, “Welcome to Gujarat” within the message.

Following the message, then-CM Modi not solely assured Tata Motors of land to construct an enormous, state-of-the-art manufacturing manufacturing unit at Sanand, however the Gujarat authorities additionally made positive that the plant received constructed and began manufacturing as quickly as doable. Initially, the plant manufactured the Nano mannequin, however later it began producing the Tiago and Tigor fashions.

In an announcement, Ratan Tata mentioned, “I’ll never forget the way he [Modi] found solutions for companies that were looking for a home.”

During an interview with CNBC, Tata mentioned the deal materialised solely in three days. When Tata introduced they might set up the plant in Gujarat, CM Modi introduced it might take only a rupee value of SMS saying “Welcome to Gujarat” to get Rs 2,000 crore of funding from Tata.

Tata mentioned within the interview, “What I have stated is [that] he invited me to move the factory to Gujarat, and I said we’d come if we had a home. He [Modi] said I’ll get you the land you want in three days. And then he delivered that on the third morning. He said, ‘Ratanji, here’s the land that I promised.” Praising PM Modi for fulfilling the promise of delivering land in simply three days, Tata added, “That does not happen in India.”

Years have handed for the reason that controversy, however the locals at Bengal’s Singur haven’t forgotten what they did. the vast majority of the locals who took half within the protests now imagine that they had been mistaken at the moment. One of the protestors mentioned, “We got nothing out of the agitation. By using us and later abandoning us to fend for ourselves, political parties served their own interests. No industries came up in the region, and the land returned to us in 2016 is not cultivable. We are living in extreme poverty.”

Netizens react to Banerjee’s ‘celebrations’

CM Banerjee’s tweet didn’t go nicely with the netizens. Debjyoti Dasgupta mentioned, “Don’t boast abt Singur. It not only ensured Tatas scram away but also no other industry enters WB. 16 yrs since Singur What has Bengal gained since then?”. Harshad Joshi replied to Dasgupta and mentioned, “Illegal Bangladeshis only, nothing else.”

Illegal bangladeshis solely… nothing else

— Harshad Joshi (former HJ91) (@_hj91_) December 4, 2022

Dr Anima Burman mentioned, “You are an opportunist. You are a street-level fighter in the true sense and you should have remained at that level always. You neither possess the quality nor the dignity of the post of Chief minister. The sooner you vacate the chair the better it will be.”

You are an https://t.co/J9BZL4JHWx are a road degree fighter within the true sense and it is best to have remained at that degree https://t.co/3TTVwkT4BO neither possess the standard nor the dignity of the put up of Chief minister.The sooner you vacate the chair the higher will or not it’s.

— Dr. Anima Burman🇮🇳 (@AnimaBurman) December 4, 2022

Dr Avirak KS mentioned, “It was the beginning of the end. A typical example could be how Ratan tata wanted to initiate the tata motors factory in Kolkata. Didi did her best to evade him, killing all employment and growth opportunities. Thus he shifted his plans to Gujrat and they made the best of it.”

It was the start of the top.
Typical instance might be how Ratan tata wished to provoke the tata motors manufacturing unit in Kolkata. Didi did her finest to evade him thereby killing all employment and development alternatives. Thus he shifted his plans to Gujrat and so they made better of it.

— Dr. Aviraj Okay S (@drAvirajKS) December 4, 2022

Following Tata’s funding in Gujarat, a number of different corporations confirmed curiosity within the state, quickly taking the state to the place of considered one of India’s most prosperous states. On the opposite hand, the farmers of Singur have come to comprehend what mistake they did 16 years in the past.