Nandigram: Buddha expresses sorrow, but does not apologise

During his first visit to Nandigram since violence in the area in January, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee expressed sorrow for those who lost their lives but offered no apology for the March 14 police firing that killed 14 people or violence during the subsequent "recapture" of the area by the CPI(M) cadres in November.

"No government in a civilised country can send police to kill people," he told a public meeting in Nandigram, where violence had broken out on the issue of acquisition of land for a chemicals hub.

He also did not give any indication that the state would pay compensation to anyone other than the families of the 14 people recorded as killed by the state police. This despite the opposition's insistence that many more were killed in the firing and recent discoveries of two mass graves in the area.

Bhattacharjee said police moved into Nandigram to allow the administration to repair roads and bridges but this led to firing.

This is a new line that has not been mentioned by the state government in its media briefings or its submissions in the Calcutta High Court. Incidentally, the high court has declared the firing as "unconstitutional" and the Supreme Court has upheld this observation despite an appeal by the state government.

The chief minister chastised the local population for being misled by "propaganda" and refusing to participate in the development of the chemical zone in the area.

Bhattacharjee, who began his address by saying, "I have come here to express my condolences for all those who have died irrespective of party affiliations," said his government wanted to develop Nandigram as a big industrial town like the nearby Haldia. He promised that no land would be taken over in the area.

Bhattacharjee blamed the Opposition for propaganda and alleged that Naxalites (whom he called Maoists) had infiltrated the area. He urged the party cadres to involve the entire population in their effort to restore normalcy in the area.

"Peace cannot be maintained only by deploying police and CRPF. Those who support us and those who belong to the opposition should not create any further trouble. People here do not want disturbances," he said.

He said the events in Nandigram over the last 11 months had stalled development in the area and around Rs 8 crore routed through the panchayats had not been spent.

He promised farmers free rice-seed mini-kits for the coming planting season and said he would consider launching more development projects for the area. He also appealed to the Bhumi Ucched Pratirodh Committee (BUPC), which is leading the agitation against the state government, to disband and form a peace committee instead.

"When the government has announced that it will not acquire land (in the area), what is the need for the Bhumi Ucched Pratirodh Committee?"

The committee rejected the chief minister's call saying its movement would continue till the perpetrators of the March 14 "genocide" were booked.