Fernandes turns up at Mamata's hunger strike

After BJP President Rajnath Singh, it was the turn of NDA Convenor George Fernandes to join ally Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee today at the site of her indefinite fast here against acquisition of farmland for the Tata Motors small car plant at Singur.

"The fight against farmland acquisition is not a fight of a province or community or society. We have to take this struggle to the national level," said Fernandes speaking on the same lines as Rajnath who yesterday promised to fight both in and outside Parliament on the issue of Singur and asked the Tatas to reconsider putting up their plant there.

Pilloring the Left Front government's handling of the situation and police 'atrocities' at Singur on Saturday, Fernandes said, "The CPI(M) had once taken up cudgels for farmers, but now they are shooting farmers."

Stating that the CPI(M) also supported the "anti-people" Congress-led UPA government at the Centre, he said, "What is happening here is a reflection of the American economic and political policies."

Alleging that the prime minister was a 'pensioner' of the World Bank, Fernandes said, "He is upholding these policies."

Banerjee, who had recently distanced herself from the BJP in the state and moved closer to the Congress, went on hunger strike at busy Dharamtolla area yesterday after Left Front government did not heed her 24-hour deadline to stop fencing work and remove the huge police deployment at Singur for the fencing work which is nearing completion.

A confident Director (industries) of West Bengal M V Rao said the fencing work was likely to be completed on Tuesday itself.

Meanwhile, a 24-hour-bandh called by Left opposition party Socialist Unity Centre of India against the police action at Singur on December 2, failed to evoke much response.