14 years after Mamata, BJP picks Singur to attack Bengal govt for ‘neglecting’ farmers

The BJP's Kisan Morcha in West Bengal protested in Hooghly on Tuesday for farm loan waivers and financial security to Singur farmers, among other issues.

TMC leader Mamata Banerjee had launched an anti-land acquisition movement in Singur 14 years ago against the setting up of a small car project. That and the Nandigram movement against a chemical hub helped her win the 2011 West Bengal assembly election.

The BJP claimed that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee forgot the same farmland which got her to power.

"BJP sits on a dharna against the injustice. Singur is the land where dhoka (betrayal) has happened for farmers. Left and Didi did it. Today, no party is with them. Farmers have papers but no land. TMC's shop opened from Singur and it will shut down here,” BJP leader Dilip Ghosh told India Today.

A Dhaniakhali farmer told India Today that the state should have waived off loans and given compensation to farmers who faced issues due to unforeseen rain.

"We have a lot of loans which we want to be waived off. So much of our crops has been destroyed due to rain. We want Mamata Banerjee to waive off the loans but she is holidaying in Goa. We expect compensation and waiving off of loans," said another farmer from Dhaniakhali, Bikash Mali.

BJP’s Nandigram MLA Suvendu Adhikari, who played an important part during the Nandigram movement as TMC leader, visited Singur to support the Kisan Cell.

Adhikari warned of a march to the state secretariat if the demands were not met.

"Mamata Banerjee can give subscriptions to thousands of clubs worth Rs 200 crore. Why can't she give Rs 200 crore to farmers who have faced the wrath of nature? If needed, very soon, we will march to Nabanna and shake the office on the 14th floor," Adhikari told India Today.

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