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Guv suggests neutral mediation

Hindustan Times | By, Kolkata
Sep 01, 2008 12:49 AM IST

West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi advises to involve a neutral mediator to break the Singur impasse, reports Tanmay Chatterjee.

While West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Trinamool chief Mamata Bannerjee continue their verbal duel over the Tatas' Nano project in Singur, Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi has come out with a suggestion: involve a neutral mediator to break the impasse.

HT Image
HT Image

The Governor, in a letter to Mamata - a copy of which was released to the media - said, “A person with no political or industrial affiliation be invited to act as an unbiased intermediator in the matter… If this thought was acceptable to you, please suggest a name or names. I would request the state government to respond positively,” he said.

“I could urge that the status quo on the sites belonging to the owners unwilling to part with them be maintained even as you give pause to the agitation until the intermediator's recommendation becomes available and hopefully, leads to a solution,” Gandhi said. He also sent a copy of the letter to Bhattacharjee.

But the Chief Minister at a meeting in memory of the martyr's of the Food Movement on Sunday said his government would not turn back from Singur. Bhattacharjee asked for isolating Mamata from the people and force her to lift the blockage.

A few hours before that, at a Left Front meeting, he suggested an all-party meeting to reach a consensus on the crisis. Front leaders said this was to get the Congress and BJP to come clear on Singur and politically isolate Mamata. The Front partners will meet again on Tuesday to decide on the all-party meet.

Interestingly, unlike the Nandigram killings, Singur has united the Left Front. Buddhadeb said, “If the Opposition has any legitimate and logical demand we are ready to talk. I wrote to them several times. But they preferred to block the highway and forcefully stop Tata employees from entering the plant.”

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