Click to play videoKolkata: West Bengal has lost. Tata Motors is taking away its Nano car factory from the state in Singur.
"You cannot run a plant when bombs are being thrown at the site. You cannot run a plant when workers are being intimidated and threatened," Tata Motors chief Ratan Tata told a press conference in Kolkata after meeting Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Friday.
“Through out the last two years we have faced enormous disruptions, threats and assaults. We are moving out of West Bengal keeping in mind the safety of our employees, vendors and our associates,” he said.
He absolved the West Bengal government and indirectly flayed Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, who leads the agitation against the car factory in Singur.
“We appreciate the government’s investor-friendly approach but our decision to leave has been prompted by those opposing the project. We do not see any change on the horizon,” said Tata.
"In this country we like to believe that there is a rule of law. How do we go into production when Mamata Banerjee has publicly said people of West Bengal do not want you? We have not been a party to any land dispute. It is between West Bengal government and Trinamool Congress."
The company regretted giving the people of West Bengal bad news at the time of puja festival but said it had no other choice. "It is unfortunate that we faced agitation and that is sole reason to take the decision," said Tata.
"I am extremely pained. It has been an extremely painful decision. It has been a great disappointment for the people working on the ground, more than me."
The company clarified that the car will roll out on time. “We have a time line, we have made promises to people. Nano will come on time. We will make make-shift arrangement to meet deadline"
The company also made it clear that it was not abandoning Bengal and would consider the state favourably for future investments.
"I hope West Bengal prosper in the future. In the future we will be here again. We don't believe that we have lost our enthusiasm in investing in West Bengal and assure that we will invest in the state for new projects," he said.
Tata, Buddha meeting
The Singur project to make a car that will cost all of Rs 100,000 announced with much fanfare on the day Bhattacharya took oath as the state's chief minister on May 18, 2006. But a dispute over land acquisition and compensation to farmers marred work at the factory.
Work at the Singur plant has remained suspended from August 28 following threats and intimidation to workers by agitators demanding return of 400 acres to 'unwilling' farmers.
On Friday, Tata and his associates flew to Kolkata to meet Bhattacharjee for a meeting to salvage the Singur project. The 75-minute meeting failed and now the company may shift the factory to Gujarat, sources tell CNN-IBN.
Tata Sons Vice-Chairperson R K Krishnakumar and Tata Motors Managing Director Ravi Kant were assisting Tata at the talks.
Industry minister Nirupam Sen assisted the Chief Minister.
The state government had earlier assured the Tatas of assistance and cooperation to help them to bring out the Rs 1 lakh car, the world's cheapest, from Singur, with several state governments offering them facilities for manufacturing the Nano.
There have been two meetings between the chief minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, first at the instance of Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi on September 7 at Raj Bhavan and later at the initiative of Bhattacharjee.
The meetings had however, failed to resolve the deadlock.
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