I don't want Tatas to leave: Mamata Banerjee

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, who led a rally here on Thursday, said she did not want the Tatas to leave West Bengal.

"I don't want Tatas to leave West Bengal. I want industry as well as agriculture but the basic interests of the farmer should be taken care of," Banerjee told the rally.

Hundreds of people participated in the rally causing a traffic bottleneck during the busy hours. The procession was kicked off from the Moulali Crossing and converged at Esplanade in central Kolkata.

Banerjee alleged violation of the September 7 agreement which was signed between the Left Front government and the Trinamool Congress in the presence of Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

"We want the 400 acres to be returned to Singur farmers," Banerjee said.

Earlier, she demanded the central government to seek explanation from the state government about why it went back on the agreement signed to resolve the impasse over land acquisition in Singur for the Tata Motors plant.

The agreement between the state government and the opposition sought to find from within the land allotted for the Nano car project the maximum possible acreage to rehabilitate affected farmers.

But, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacahrjee later said only 70 acres were available inside the project area.