PM Modi to address public rally in Bengal’s Singur today
Kolkata: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to address a public rally at Singur in West Bengal’s Hooghly district, where he is expected to resurrect the memories of the exit of Tata Motors’ small car project, Nano, in 2008.
The pull-out of the project from Singur happened in the face of the violent movement by Trinamool Congress, as the then Opposition party in the state, led by the then opposition leader and the current West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, against land acquisition for the project.
Notably, after the erstwhile Tata Group chairman, Late Ratan Tata, announced the exit of the Nano project from Singur in Kolkata on the afternoon of October 3, 2008, the project’s next destination was Sanand in Gujarat, with Narendra Modi as the then Chief Minister of the state.
“I said that I will not pull out from Singur even if a gun is put on my head. But Miss Banerjee just pulled the trigger,” said an emotional Ratan Tata on October 3, 2008, in Kolkata while announcing the pull-out of the Nano Project from Singur.
Now, all eyes will be on how the Prime Minister will recall those memories in his speech later in the day while addressing a political rally in Singur in a run-up for the crucial Assembly elections in the state scheduled later this year.
The West Bengal unit of the BJP had already launched a massive campaign about the Prime Minister’s rally at Singur on Sunday, linking it to the exit of the Nano project from that location in 2008.
“The Nano exit from Singur was not only a setback for this belt of the Hooghly district, but also ruined the future potential investments in the entire West Bengal. Our aim is to bring back Tata Group with a project at Singur. In case BJP comes to power in West Bengal after the crucial Assembly elections this year, not only Singur but the entire West Bengal will get back its past glory as an ideal investment hub,” said former BJP state president in West Bengal and the Union Minister of State, Sukanta Majumdar.
Before the public rally at Singur, the Prime Minister, on Sunday, will also attend an organisational programme virtually inaugurating many central government projects in West Bengal, mostly related to the Indian Railways.
Earlier on Saturday, the Prime Minister addressed a rally at the minority-dominated Malda district. His visit to West Bengal is particularly important, not only from an administrative perspective but also from a political standpoint, amid the crucial Assembly elections in West Bengal scheduled for later this year.
To recall, on December 20, the Prime Minister held a scheduled public meeting in Taherpur in Nadia district. He also left for Taherpur by helicopter from Kolkata Airport. However, due to poor visibility because of dense fog, his helicopter could not land in Taherpur.
After returning to the airport, he addressed the gathering from Taherpur through an audio bridge call. In that speech, he promised that he would visit West Bengal again soon.