Kolkata: With the new alliance government
in West Bengal headed by Mamata Banerjee according top
priority to returning the 400 acres at Singur, a former CPI(M)
minister on Wednesday said that he had a solution for returning land
to farmers who unwillingly parted with it.
"I know how the 400 acres can be returned to the
farmers of Singur. I gave this idea long back to the Left
Front government which did not pay heed. But I will not now go
into details," former Land and Land Revenue minister Abdur
Rezzak Mollah said.
"If the new chief minister wants to speak to me, I
will give my view," Mollah who was re-elected from Canning
(East) assembly constituency told reporters.
Stating that he was unable to air his views in the
party office but could do so in the assembly, he said "I will
continue to uphold the cause of the farmers and will oppose
those who work against their interest, be it the CPI(M) or the
Trinamool Congress."
He said "from the day the forcible acquisition of land
began at Singur and other places in the name of
industrialisation, I warned the party, but the leaders did not
listen.
"I tried to work as a safety valve of a pressure
cooker which gives repeated warning whistles. But no attention
was paid leading to bursting of the pressure cooker," Mollah
said.
The outspoken leader also said that his party, which
received a drubbing in the Assembly election, needed to
undergo a 'structural change' and not 'any cosmetic change'.
"The party has lost power as it was alienated from
the masses. What is needed at this stage is a structural
change and not any cosmetic change which can put the party
back on the rails," he said.
Known for his controversial statements that made his
party censure him in public several times, Mollah said he was
not afraid if his statements caused anger among his party
leaders.
"The party got its response from the masses which
defeated it in the hustings, he said.
Suggesting that the CPI(M) leaders should work hard
to win over the people, Mollah said, "The people will easily
identify with those who work for them. Use of cosmetics will
not help the leaders to reach the masses".
Refusing to rate the performance of former Chief
Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Mollah retorted "what
is the use? I am not a teacher of mathematics".
He agreed that it would be a difficult situation
for the CPI(M) in the new Assembly but said as a senior member
of the House since 1972, he would play his role.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, May 25, 2011, 18:43