New Delhi, December 4
West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya today regretted his statement on the Nandigram violence that villagers allegedly targeted by his CPM cadres were “paid back in their own coin.” He admitted he should not have said so.

Bhattacharya told mediapersons here that the violence in Nandigram was a “political and administrative” failure. He said, “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 affirmed that his priority was to bring back normalcy to the region in East Midnapore district where clashes between rival groups over land acquisition for industry since January left more than 35 persons dead.

Desiring peace for all, Bhattacharya, who is in the capital for the CPM politburo meeting, said that the situation in the troubled Nandigram blocks was “fast returning to normal” and most of those who had been evicted had already returned.

A total of Rs 1 crore had so far been spent by the Left Front government for their rehabilitation, including reconstruction and repair of damaged houses, roads, bridges as also supply of clothings, utensils and fertiliser mini-kits for the farmers to sow the rabi crop, he said.

The Chief Minister said a senior officer had been sent to the area to prepare a report on what kind of development projects could be implemented in the Nandigram area. “As soon as we get this report, I will announce the projects.”

He also claimed that the violence in Nandigram had not affected investments in the state. Bhattacharjee said, “Nandigram or no Nandigram, the process of industrialisation 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.

About Bangladesh author Taslima Nasreen, who was shifted from Kolkata to Rajasthan and then to Delhi and subsequently to an undisclosed location following protests by a fundamentalist group last month, Bhattacharya said external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee would decide about the return of Taslima Nasreen to the Eastern metropolis.

Bhattacharjee also said he has no problem with the Governor, who earned the wrath of the top leadership of the ruling CPI-M for terming the manner of recapture of the Nandigram villages as “unlawful and unacceptable.”

“He is a nice man...I have good relations with him. We not only discuss politics but also literature. We exchange books also,” Bhattacharjee told reporters here.

He also denied reports that West Bengal government was seeking removal of Gandhi from the post.