Trinamool should pay compensation to Tatas from party funds, not state exchequer: Bengal LoP

Kolkata: Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday said that Trinamool Congress should pay the compensation to Tata Motors Limited (TML) from the party funds rather than using the state exchequer.

"Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool Congress are solely responsible for driving away the Nano project from West Bengal. It is unimaginable that a factory whose 50 per cent of construction work was completed was blown up by dynamite. Trinamool Congress has enough resources in their party exchequer. So they must pay the compensation from their own resources and pay for the crime they committed by driving Tatas from Singur. Using taxpayer’s money to pay the compensation is simply unacceptable," the LoP told media persons this morning.

On Monday, Trinamool informed the National Stock Exchange (NSE) that a three-member Arbitral Tribunal has directed the West Bengal government to pay a compensation of Rs 765.78 crore in additional to an interest at the rate of 11 per cent accrued on it since September 2016 as compensation to the company for the closure of its Nano car project in Singur.

The LoP also threatened to start a mass movement in the state in case the state government pays the compensation to TML from the state exchequer.

"On one hand, our legislative team will corner the state government on the floor of the assembly in that event. On the other hand, our party supporters will hit the streets in case there is an attempt to use taxpayer’s money to pay the compensation," Adhikari said.

Reacting to his comments, Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member Dr Santanu Sen said that such “mindless” statements are only expected from a turncoat politician who shifted to BJP to save his skin from the central agencies after he was seen accepting cash in the Narada video scam.

"Actually, the BJP leaders are themselves aware that they will be facing a disaster in the forthcoming Lok Sabha election in 2024. So they are completely out of their minds now," Sen said.