NDTV.com: Land won't be taken away: Buddhadeb

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Land won't be taken away: Buddhadeb

Joydeep Sengupta

Wednesday, December 26, 2007, (Nandigram)

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya finally visited Nandigram, the place that has haunted him all year.

It's his first visit there since violence broke out in March over anti-SEZ protests, in which over 29 people have lost their lives this year.

Buddhadeb's speech at the rally was emotional and his mood mellow.

"We have suffered because you have suffered. I have come here to sympathise with the families of those who have lost their lives. Peace has been restored in Nandigram but it is also the responsibility of the people of Nandigram. I appeal to you to not bring any more unrest in this area," he added.

And he handed out the Rs 2 lakh compensation that the CPM had announced for the relatives of the dead.

"Rs 2 lakh is not enough, who will give my children the father they lost. I want justice," said Sabita Samanta, wife of slain CPM worker.

Though Buddhadeb's visit to Nandigram was to buy peace, he didn't quite admit that the SEZ plan was wrong. Neither did he talk about what happens to Nandigram now.

"We had hoped to make Nandigram a huge industrial hub, a second Haldia. There was nothing wrong with our vision. But then a lot of misinformation spread. They said we would forcibly take over people's land, demolish mosques. Are we mad? Can any government take away land by force if the people are not willing," he said.

The state government's goal was to create a special economic zone in Nandigram.

But the violence that took place was between CPM workers and a coalition of groups opposed to the project including Naxalites and members of the Trinamool Congress.

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