The day after Trinamul Congress leader Mamata Banerjee called off her 25-day fast after requests from President APJ Abdul Kalam and present and former Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and AB Vajpayee, state chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee further extended prohibitory orders in Singur, where the Tatas are going to set up their first small car factory.On the eve of 2007, some of the displaced farmers held a rally at Singur defying prohibitory orders. Reports suggest that the state administration did not try to stop the rally.

Though many observants feel that the Singur issue is over and the state government would soon hand over land to the Tatas without further complications, the ground reality is quite different.

The West Bengal government has promised that in the next few days it would release the names of willing farmers who had given land for industrialisation without any compulsion, as alleged by Opposition parties. Monoj Bhattacharjee, Revolutionary Socialist Party’s central secretariat member, said release of the list would help the Left Front establish its credibility that it had not taken the land forcefully. “But I really don’t know why the state government is delaying this process. The all-party team will visit Singur and if there is any anomaly in the land acquisition process, we would report that,” he said.

Courtesy : Express India

In a bid to salvage the USD 730 million Daewoo acquisition deal, which hit rough waters after creditors to the ailing Korean electronics giant refused a demand for price cut, the Videocon-led consortium has started negotiations with a revised offer.Industry sources said the consortium comprising India's Videocon and US equity firm Ripplewood has reduced the demand for price cut to 10 per cent of deal value from the earlier 13 per cent.

When contacted, Videocon officials were tight-lipped and said they were bound by non-disclosure agreement and could not verify or comment on news coming out from Seoul.

The sources, however, said negotiations were on after the renewed offer.

Courtesy : Express India

Threatening to move a privilege notice or file a defamation suit against Tata group chief Ratan Tata, the Trinamool Congress on Tuesday gave him a seven-day ultimatum to withdraw his comment that his "competitors" had been fuelling protests against a proposed car plant at Singur."We have given seven days to Mr Ratan Tata to withdraw his comment that his competitors had been fuelling the agitation at Singur," Leader of Opposition Partha Chatterjee said.

Failing this, he said, the Trinamool "will explore possibilities of moving a privilege motion in the next session of the assembly or filing a defamation suit against" Tata.

Speaking at the end of a meeting of Trinamool's current and past MLAs here, Chatterjee said the meet passed a resolution describing as "an example to the country" party chief Mamata Banerjee's protest for farmers at Singur, the site of the proposed car project of Tata Motors.

Courtesy : Express India