Siliguri: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday claimed that the Tata group, led by industrialist Ratan Tata, was forced to shift the proposed Tata Nano factories from Singur in Hooghly district to Gujarat by the-then Left Front government, and not her.
"I did not chase Tata, CPI(M) chased them out. They had occupied people's land by force, which we have returned. We have conducted so many projects, but never needed to forcefully take someone's land," she said at an event in Kawakhali in Siliguri.
"You all remember the problems this area faced. To all industrialists here, I would like to say, 'we do not discriminate'" she further added. The CM's North Bengal visit, meanwhile, gathers significance amid reports of a growing division between the Northern and Southern parts of the state.
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"We are West Bengal together, including South and North Bengal. Our contact with the people of North Bengal is more than that of the South. A lot of improvements have been made in north Bengal," Banerjee said, trashing concerns.
Demands for separate states of North Bengal and Jangalmahal grew leaps and bounds after the 2021 assembly elections, with BJP MP from Alipurduar, John Barla, and Bishnupur MP Saumitra Khan batting for the two autonomous regions.
