Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday strongly defended the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011. This was the first time that she broke her silence after the Calcutta high court declared the new law “unconstitutional and void”. Giving a reply in the Assembly, Ms Banerjee said whatever her government did was in accordance with the Constitution. She also rejected the charge that her government acted in haste on the Singur issue.
The chief minister used the floor of the House to counter the repeated charge of the Opposition Left Front that her government was not following democratic norms and procedures and taking decisions in a hurry. The Left Front also alleged that the state government introduced the West Bengal Panchayat Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2012 with an eye on the next panchayat elections. With the permission of the Speaker, the chief minister suddenly started to speak after the discussions on the West Bengal Backward Classes (Other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) (Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts) Bill, 2012. She said, “You are only talking about votes. I don’t think anything has been done hurriedly. The decision regarding Singur was also not taken in a hurry. When we had announced that decision (regarding return of land to the unwilling farmers), there was no election. The dates of panchayat elections have also not been announced yet.”