Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Saturday sought to bring the anti-land acquisition movement closer to Kolkata by threatening to launch an agitation along the lines of Singur and Nandigram.
"Land scams have taken place in a big way at Rajarhat where the CPI(M)-led Left Front government had forcibly acquired acres after acres by torturing farmers. It is time now that I launch agitations here the way I spearheaded movements at Singur, Nandigram and Suchpur to uphold farmers' rights," Banerjee told a rally of party workers and farmers at Rajarhat.
"Land scams will be probed case by case if Trinamool Congress comes to power in the next assembly polls in the state ... This (Left Front) government should be nailed for speculating on land."
Claiming that 25,000 acres had been forcibly acquired at Rajarhat for the New Town project by torturing farmers, she said TC had received complaints from 2.5 lakh families, some of whom had not yet received compensation.
"Land was acquired by muscle power ... Fifty farmers have been killed for resisting the landgrabbers at Rajarhat. I have documented evidence. "I suggest a PIL be moved in Calcutta High Court for the massive land scam at Rajarhat. I will see to the last that deprived farmers get justice," she said.
{{/usCountry}}"Land was acquired by muscle power ... Fifty farmers have been killed for resisting the landgrabbers at Rajarhat. I have documented evidence. "I suggest a PIL be moved in Calcutta High Court for the massive land scam at Rajarhat. I will see to the last that deprived farmers get justice," she said.
{{/usCountry}}Banerjee also alleged that there was no public notification about allocation of land from a minister's quota at Rajarhat.
"This is brazen violation of Supreme Court order." Alleging that the LF government had resorted to 'land loot' in the name of industrialisation, she claimed the government had paid Rs 6,000 per cottah and sold it for Rs 40 lakh to promoters owing allegiance to CPI-M.
Land scams had taken place in many parts of the state, the latest being at Rajarhat where it had surfaced at the Vedic village last year, she said and demanded that 10 per cent of the land be returned to the farmers.