Buddha concedes, says Nandigram was a ‘failure’

The West Bengal CM said that Nandigram was an 'administrative and political failure' and regretted his remarks on the issue.

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee admitted that Nandigram was an “administrative and political failure” and regretted his remarks that those opposing land acquisition there had been “paid back in the same coin”.

“We have to ensure that Nandigram does not repeat itself. We have learnt lessons from Nandigram that we have to take people into confidence… We have failed in Nandigram. It was an administrative and political failure,” he told a press conference in Delhi.

Asked about his remarks after the recapture of Nandigram that those opposed to the CPI (M) and land acquisition had been “paid back in the same coin”, he said “I should not have said that. Now I want peace for all.”

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To a question whether the process of industrialisation in the state had suffered due to the Nandigram situation, Bhattacharjee said, “Nandigram or no Nandigram, the process of industrialization in West Bengal cannot be stopped.”

He said no corporate house, business group or foreign company had said they would withdraw from the state. “In fact, major foreign companies from Japan, the US, Singapore and Dubai have sent proposals” to invest in the state.

On the chemical hub, which was supposed to have come up at Nandigram, Bhattacharjee said it was now being set up at Nayachar, which did not have any habitation nor was the land arable.