I think I have landed myself in trouble: Yunus

Within 24 hours of justifying the setting up of industries including SEZs on agricultural land, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus today backtracked saying he had landed himself in trouble for speaking without knowing the ground realities in West Bengal.

"I think I have landed myself in trouble with my comment yesterday. I hope opposition parties here will not take me amiss," he said.

Yunus told a press conference that he did not have thorough knowledge of the 'ground realities" in West Bengal and his comment on acquisition of farmland for industries was a "theoretical proposition".

He had said yesterday that "Peasants will have to part with their lands for setting up industries which will lead to economic growth," and there was no scope for dispute over SEZs.

However, today Yunus said that he had no idea that farmland acquisition was such a controversial issue in the state.

"I simply do not have the facts and will not venture any assessment of the current situation in West Bengal.", he said.