Singur (WB), Sep 16: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday accused the Centre of intimidating the people and said that it fails to stand with them during a crisis. Addressing a farmers’ rally in the Hooghly district over the phone, Banerjee said the BJP never stood in support of the farmers of the state during natural calamities, and was only conspiring to defame her government.
“The Centre intimidates and does not stand with the people. We don’t intimidate anyone, neither are we scared of anyone. We work for the people. Those who do not work for the people, they resort to intimidation,” she said. “Our government has provided financial support to 63 lakh farmers who were severely affected by different calamities. We believe in working for the people, unlike some others who only threaten people,” Banerjee said at the rally organised by the TMC’s farmers’ wing.
The Centre was doing little to rein in the middlemen who were exploiting both the farmers and the common people, and artificially jacking up prices of essential commodities, she told the rally in Singur, where she spearheaded a popular movement in the late-2000s against the acquiring of farmland for the Tata Nano factory which helped her in overthrowing the Left government. Banerjee was speaking as Becharam Manna, the local MLA and her aide since the Singur movement days, held the phone near the mic.
“The chief minister also announced setting up of an agri-based industry hub on 10.10 acre land in Singur. It will have a warehouse, cold storage with a capacity of 3,000 metric tonne and other ancillary units,” he said. The chief minister also announced allocating Rs 36 crore for setting up of animal husbandry, floriculture units on barren farmlands.
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