Child sacrifice: Couple remanded in police custody

Bail applications of the 11 persons arrested in connection with the ghastly child sacrifice at Tilapal village was rejected by the sub-divisional judicial magistrate of Udala today. The 11, including the parents of the two victims and their relatives, were remanded in police custody for 15 days.
Padmalochan and his wife Tuni had allegedly killed their two children last week and were about to kill the third one yesterday when they were apprehended by the police. Police had claimed that the couple were acting on the advise of a tantric who had assured them prosperity if they conducted human sacrifice and had also said that the two dead would come alive soon. Hence the bodies were kept inside the house.

World Business Briefing: Chinese Shoemakers Sue Europe Over Tariffs

Singur remains in Singur and the focus is on Kolkata. Now the focus shifts to New Delhi as the President expresses concern over Mamta's health. Singur is still cutt off. Polity and economy have made the day to day life of the common people miserable and a chain of deaths ssem to follow. Other day a CPI-M cadre in intense debate warned me to face more newsbreaks like that of Taapasi Maalik if Singur holds on the resistance.Meanwhile in Singur, bodies of an old couple were found in their house in Beraberi village near Singur.Police is investigating if it is a case of suicide. There are also reports that they could have died due to electric shock. The couple had given their land for the Tatas' Singur project.Over the past few years, the West Bengal Government has been pursuing an investor-friendly economic policy, angeringits hardcore supporters-mostly poor farmers.Mamata is not well. Normal functiong ofher body and mind seem to deteriorate consistancely and her bioticsustenanse is endangered.Mamata, who is protesting against the TATA Motors project in Singur, is on oxygen support. She has refused all medical assistance from state authorities.Earlier in the day, the Trinamool Congress set up a seven-member panel to monitor the health of Mamata Banerjee, who is on the 25th day of her fast.On Thursday morning, Mamata complained of muscle pain and her blood pressure dropped to a low 96/52.The state government has also asked the military hospital to stand by for any emergency.
;The condition of Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, who is on an indefinite fast over Singur controversy, is deteriorating steadily and she needed some food supplement, doctors said here on Thursday. ; Doctors attending to Mamta, whose hunger strike entered 25th day today even as she remained on oxygen support, said she was in dire need of supplements."We think that the patient (Mamata Banerjee) should be given some bit of oral fluids or supplements. But the patient is refusing. We are keeping all necessary arrangements for any emergency situation and medical treatment. There is a board of seven doctors at the moment, including specialists from several fields," said Dr. Sudarshan Ghosh Dastidar, who is heading a seven-member team of doctors attending to the leader.Dastidar added that her blood pressure has fallen and she was complaining of muscle cramps and also pain in the chest and the abdomen.Singur is not deviated as we see the left and right deviation in the affairs of State and polity. Social consequences would be much more serious than assumed as the agro sector and rural India as a whole are bonded in an unprecedented bondage of insecurity and Unemployment.President A P J Abdul Kalam on Thursday expressed concern over the health of Trinamool Congress leader Mamta Banerjee, whose hunger strike on the Singur issue entered the 25th day.Kalam spoke to West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in the morning for the second time since Banerjee resorted to the protest against the acquisition of farmland for Tata Motors project. A Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesman said the President had talked to the chief minister two days ago also on the same issue.An NDA delegation, led by former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, also met President A P J Abdul Kalam today.They submitted a memorandum to the President asking him to personally intervene on Singur. The President told the delegation that he is in constant touch with West Bengal and the proposal to resolve the crisis should come not from him but from West Bengal.Close on the heels of the President's concern, the chief minister said in Jalpaiguri that he was ready for a dialogue on the Singur issue and would again write to the Trinamool Congress chief and ask her to call off her fast.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that Mamata should receive medical care from the Centre as her health deteriorated further.The on-going protests against the Tata plant in Singur, West Bengal, like the protests seen earlier in the context of the Tata and Posco plants in Orissa, are a pointer to how difficult it is for state governments to attract and retain large projects that, almost by definition, lead to large-scale dislocation.Ironically, it is the very investment that some locals are protesting against that holds the key to greater prosperity in these states. States such as Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, and to a lesser extent West Bengal, lag behind in investment and economic prosperity.They could sorely do with the additional jobs that are bound to follow in the wake of new investment and can hardly afford to turn away potential investors. In Orissa, private sector investors are to some extent paying for the sins of the past.Inadequate rehabilitation of those displaced by public sector projects like the Rourkela Steel plant has meant locals are rightly suspicious of the intentions of the government. There is also no shortage of militant NGOs. No investor, however eager, would persist in the face of determined opposition for very long. Beyond a point they will prefer to cut their losses and exit for more hospitable climes.In Kolkata, the External Affairs Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, today expressed concern over the deteriorating health of Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and said that doctors from AIIMS in Delhi could be requisitioned to provide her medical aid if she agreed.Mukherjee told reporters at the state Congress office that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked the army's Eastern Command Hospital here to offer whatever medical assistance is required by Banerjee.Congress leader Sudip Bandoapdhyay demanded that the state government should immediately publish the list of farmers who consented to give their land at Singur for the Tata project and received compensation.He said in the absence of such a list from the state government, there was confusion particularly after the Trinamool's claim that some farmers, who held 464 acres of the 997 acres required for the project, had not given consent and filed affidavits in court.Bandopadhyay, a former close associate of Banerjee, said she should end her fast and sit for talks with the state government.
CM proposes compromise formulaChief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya has sent a letter proposing a compromise formula on the Singur issue.The letter has been sent to protesting Trinamool leader Mamata Banerjee. The specifics of compromise formula are still unknown.The move comes after the Chief Minister held a meeting with key ministers including the Industries Minister Nirupam Sen.Trinamool leaders have responded sharply to Ratan Tata's statement to NDTV that it was not just politics but also his business competitors who were encouraging the trouble in West Bengal. They've been threatening to sue him for defamation.
"Whether the purpose or the cause is served, whether the purpose of the poor farmers has been served, whether the land which has been snatched away from them, is given back by the government, that is the main thing. The ball is now in the court of Buddhadeb (Bhattacharya, West Bengal Chief Minister)," said Madan Mitra, a Trinamool Congress leader.Singur: Bardhan calls for transparency.KANNUR: Communist Party of India general secretary A.B. Bardhan has called for "transparency" in the acquisition of farmland at Singur, West Bengal, for a car project and consultation with alliance partners on the issue. Inaugurating the party function at Parapram here on Tuesday to mark the 80th anniversary of the formation of the CPI and the birth anniversary of Communist leader P. Krishna Pillai, Mr. Bardhan said the Left parties, wherever they were in power, should take the people along while carrying out their projects.Admitting that there were some differences between the CPI and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), he said the two parties were fighting for the people's interests.Referring to the issue of "acquisition of agricultural land" in West Bengal for the development of industries, Mr. Bardhan said that the CPI was for industrial development, though it wanted more transparency in the acquisition of land."Let us use the weapon of transparency and let us see that fertile land is given [for development projects] as little as possible," Mr. Bardhan said. Industries should come up and land had to be given, he said."What land has to be given and what persuasions have to be used to get the land from the people have to be done in consultation with the partners," he said adding that the party wanted the West Bengal and Kerala Governments to become models of development.The CPI leader said the party founded this day in 1925 had been born in the country due to the national and international situations that had been shaping the world then.AIFB urges Mamata to end hunger strike ;
;AIFB Appeal.Lucknow, Appealing to Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee to withdraw her hunger strike and come to the discussion table, All India Forward Block (AIFB) general secretary and MP Debabrata Biswas on Thursday said all possible efforts have been made to evolve the Singur deal as a pro-farmers project. ''The Left Front government of West Bengal has only acquired 943 acre of land which has happily been given by the farmers after they were assured a prime price for their land besides 40 per cent bonus and a job for one member of each family in the Tata small car project,'' he said.
Biswas, on the other hand, opposed the Reliance power project at Dadri and supported the agitation launched by former Prime Minister V P Singh, saying his party has objected to the SEZ policy in the country. Demanding that farmers, whose land has been acquired in the Dadri power project, be given the shares of the company, he said all government should avoid handing agricultural land for industrial purpose.
Biswas said, ''Ms Banerjee, if agrees to the democratic norms, should immediately end her hunger strike and come to the discussion table so that her demand can be sorted out. When terrorist organisation can come to the negotiation table then why Mamata is sticking to a hunger strike even as Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattarcharjee has agreed to consider her demands.''. ''Even if the state government fails to meet the demand of Ms Banerjee, then she is free to relaunch her agitation anytime,'' he added.Demanding immediate withdrawal of cases lodged against the politicians involved in the Singur agitation and revoking of Section 144 of the CrPC in the area, the AIFB leader said the party has also urged the state government not to insist on 42 acres of land at Singur, which the farmers are resisting to give for the project.Maintaining that the people of West Bengal had supported the Singur project, the leader said the Left Front government came to power in the state by including it in the poll manifesto.Tata's statement will add fuel to Singur situation: Congress
Tata group chief Ratan Tata's accusation that rival business firms were fuelling the controversy over Tata Motors' proposed car plant at Singur would complicate an already volatile situation, the Congress said today. It demanded that West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee should enquire into the matter."It is unprecedented that a business tycoon like Ratan Tata would have commented on the political movement at Singur," State Congress working president Pradip Bhattacharya told reporters here.Bhattacharya demanded that Tata should name his competitors who were fuelling the controversy over the small car plant at Singur. "Mr Tata should clear the confusion that has been created by his statement," he said.State Congress general secretary Manas Bhuinya said, the Chief Minister should ask intelligence agencies to find those stoking the controversy at Singur as claimed by Tata. Alleging that there was no transparency in the deal struck by the State Government with the Tatas on the Singur project, Bhuinya said, "Bhattacharjee has failed to act as the State's chief executive to end the Singur imbroglio and create a congenial atmosphere for industrialisation."Earlier, Bhattacharya demanded a CBI probe into the death of a couple at Singur, claiming the incident was shrouded in mystery. A probe by the CID and CBI was already on into the recovery of a woman's charred body at Singur on December 18, and the CBI should also be asked to investigate the couple's death, he said.Open Letter to Ratan TataQuoting ; suklasen,yahoo.com:
Dear Mr. Ratan Tata,
;While we never made any secret of our ; strong opposition to the proposed 'people's car' by the Tata Motors at ; Singur in West Bengal as it'd uproot thousands from their traditional ; habitats and also strip them of their means of livelihood. It is also ; no secret that your reported rejection of other three alternative sites ; as offered by the West Bengal government, which would have presumably ; had entailed far less human cost, we have found just not only ; unreasonable but pretty cruel and inhuman as well. Nevertheless we had ; certain respect for you as the incumbent head of the pioneering ; industrial house of India promoting indigenous technology and ; entrepreneurship and also not the least because of your personal ; association with various philanthropic ventures.
;So we are ; rudely shocked the way you've elected to slur the reputation of the ; conscientious resistors taking a cue from one of your prime backers, ; Sitaram Yechury. Being as a professional politician, it was not so much ; unexpected of Mr Yechury notwithstanding his Leftist protestations.
; But the brazen manner you've claimed on a TV channel, viz. the NDTV ; , ; that your "competitors (are) fuelling fire in Singur" is ; downright slanderous and defamatory. Evidently no "competitors" of ; yours are going to take up the issue with you, simply because there are ; none. You all are sailing in the same boat.
;But, we, those ; who are are actively backing the struggle of the people of Singur ; resisting the proposed project, which we consider as a gross act of ; human rights violation, take strong exception to your comment and ; condemn it in no uncertain terms.
Competitors also fuelling fire in Singur: Ratan Tata
In his first substantive comments on the controversy in Singur, Ratan Tata has told NDTV that it's not just politics but also his business competitors who are encouraging the trouble in West Bengal.
Ratan Tata, who has been voted as the NDTV Indian of the Year for 2006, said that there was absolutely no question of the Tatas pulling out of West Bengal and taking the project to another state. ; He said that if someone held a gun to his head, they were welcome to pull the trigger, but he was not the kind to leave under pressure or threat.In response to Ratan Tata's statement, West Bengal Industries Minister Nirupam Sen has said that he regrets the fact that the corporate rivalry that Ratan Tata says is partially responsible for the deadlock for Singur.Sen also added that he was grateful that Ratan Tata was determined to go ahead with the people's car project in West Bengal.However, responding to Ratan Tata's comments, senior Trinamool leader Madan Mitra has said that the industrialist was wrong in implying that Mamata Banerjee's agitation was being funded by the Tatas' business rivals.India's rural poor live on Rs 12 per day
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NDTV Correspondent

Wednesday, December 27, 2006 (New Delhi):

One third of India's rural population or 200 million people live on Rs 12 per day, the National Sample Survey Organisation has found.

The report on consumer expenditure in India for 2004-2005 also found that 10 per cent of India's rural population lives on just Rs nine per day.

It added that 10 per cent of India's urban population lives on Rs 13 per day.

In 2004-05, out of every rupee spent by the average rural Indian, 55 paise was spent on food, while the average urban Indian spent only 45 paise on food per rupee.

Ten per cent of consumer expenses both by rural and urban Indians is spent on fuel and light while five per cent is spent on clothes, shoes and bedding.

Rural India spends seven per cent of its consumer budget on medical expenses while urban Indians spend five per cent.

Rural India spends three per cent of its consumer expenditure on education in urban areas its five per cent.

The average rural Indian consumes about 12 kg of cereal a month, while the urban Indian consumes a little less than 10 kg a month.

The survey also found that Orissa, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh continue to be India's poorest states.
;Shukla Sen Writes :
Singur it's true that technically is not an SEZ, hence
the tax-rebate meant for SEZs, will not apply here.
But otherwise it's essentially the same story.
The same Land Acquisition ACT is being used in both
the cases to coercively acquire lands from the
landowners and being handed over to private
entrepreneurs in the name of 'public interest'.
The struggle against Singur, which is both a part and
gross symbol of the whole process - whereby the
underprivileged are being just not being cruelly
stripped of their traditional habitats and means of
livelihood but also the tag 'people' in favour of the
much better off, is a part, a crucial element, of the
broader ongoing struggles.It's of both practical and symbolic significance that
in Singur the purported product is 'people's car' - a
prime polluter of the environ and the most inefficient
user of fuel as a means of (privileged) transport.The CPIM may rant and rave at the loss of their monopoly rights to represent the 'people' and decide
who're the 'people' and who're their 'enemies', but
the struggle of Singur goes on regardless. The 'real', flesh and blood,
people of Singur are too determined.BTW, in another post we've exposed how the CPIM is speaking shamelessly with a forked tongue.
They're pressing ahead brutally with Singur, acquiringmulticrop fertile lands on behalf of the Tatas, andrailing against the SEZs on the same ground.They're shouting against the Land Acquisition Act andusing it ruthlessly in Singur without the least
compunction.The Party is asking for caps, upper limits, on the
SEZs in a particular state, their CMs are pleading just the opposite.One can very well appreciate and sympathise with the
resultant discomfiture of a loyal camp-follower andhis compulsion to launch a campaign of canard and
calumny.The followers of Stalin, who had entered into a pact
and joined hands with Hitler at the beginning of the
World War II, and was compelled to move over to the
other (imperialist) camp only after Hitler
miscalculated his own strength and trashed the Pact,
are evidently the most eligible ones to preach about
the dangers of 'fascism'!)

Let me, however, recap a couple of relevant points:

The Looming Danger and The Task Ahead

This aggressive and brazen turn towards Right on
the part of the Left as epitomised by Singur, which
again is not a stand-alone venture - it has followed
Salim and would precede Haripur and so on so forth,
may very well turn out to be a dangerous turning point
in the post-Independence Indian History.

Singur stands for open championing and promotion of
the dreams and aspirations of the privileged, in the
name of 'Development', at the cost of the
underprivileged and totally unmindful of
social/ecological costs.
Quite significantly even the 'product' in this case,
touted as 'people's car', happens to be a prime
polluter and most energy-inefficient means of
(privileged)
transport.

The tag "people" is being cruelly denied to the
bottommost rung of the populace and conferred upon the
significantly better off sections.

This is an extremely disturbing development.

Till now the Left used to counter, even if in their
own self-contradictory and self-limiting ways.

The whole dynamic of Singur dictates that they'd fast
lose their moral and political legitimacy. And with
the trend gathering momentum, they themselves would
hunt for slots at the front row of the journey
downhill.

There's no time to lose time.
The danger must be properly acknowledged and countered with whatever force at our command.
We must stand up erect and firm against the regime of
dark terror, and barrage of slander, unleashed in the
name of 'people' and 'development' .

The Specific Demands

A.I. Stop acquiring agricultural lands for new
industries.
II. Let private entrepreneurs pay
commercial rates. III. Compensating the landowners
alone is far from adequate. All those dependant on the
acquired lands must be appropriately factored in.
IV. Local populace must have a say in the
'development'
process.
B.I. Stop making Singur a veritable war-zone. II.
Withdraw immediately the coercive apparatus of the
State. III. Release those who have been arrested. III.

Drop all police cases against the protestors. IV.
Compensate the victims of State/Party brutalities.
C. Rethink model of Development.

Pls. visit http://www.petitiononline.com/4singur/petition.html.
Sukla

SEZ, Singur and Globalisation

It is too sad to see that all agitations against SE zones stalled by a non-SEZ
project with a decent land transfer between the locals and govt. With the
support of fascism globalization demolished all the struggle and opposition to
globalization for last 10 to 20years. Hindutva and religious slogans came up in
the air instead of the real issues of Indian mass. WTO agreements and GATT
agreements we signed without even discussing in Indian parliament. All the
agitations back stabbed by ram mandir issue. With the support of Hindutva agents
globalization implemented fully on Indian mass� head.


In todays India NGOs over taking the role of derailing the struggle of indian
mass against globalisation. The struggle supposes to come up against SEZ lost
its future before that arising; just because of the Singure issue. Singur agents
of globalization is very strategically using to prevent the real agitation of
Indian pessants and farmers suppose to arise any time. Very strategically
Mamta�s agiation getting support from Extreme left and Extrem rightwing, and
NGOs representation also not less in this process .


Indian farmers and peasants are coming more close to left political parties
(Agitations of farmers for water in Rajastan is a best example), Our downtrodden
mass start recognizing their real enemies, this is the real time indian poor
coming closer to indian left. India is waiting for a MASS agitation against SEZs
its political formulation needs to make changes in Indian politics BUT our NGOs
are stalling this political process. de-politicalised NGO organisations are
derailing this political process.


NGO politics; each and every move in Singur making indian pessants, farmers
away from the Natural Political Process suppose to happen in India. Indian
pessants and farmers struggle against SEZ's and globalisation impacts needs a
political shape and political leadership but the struggle at Singur destroying
it.

Each and every morning Latin America is awaking with political changes against
globalisation But in India this process stabbed and backfired with the help of
Hindutva in the first instance and second time by NGOs with Singur tragedy.

Last 20years political history of India showing that Indian Mass are against
globalisation all the govts came with Globalisation Agenda in Inda failed,
defeated and trashed into the dustbin of History. Too many faces we have seen
Narasimha Rao, IK Gujral, Vajpey, Manmohan but irrespective of cultural,
religious, linguistic, political difference indian mass Disapproved them,
disapproved the agenda of globalisation which they try to implement upon indian
mass.

Globalisation arrived in India with the support of Fundamentalism all the
agitations and peoples opposition to globalisation very strategically defeated
by rightwing fundamentalist groups. All govts. from Narasimharao's time faced a
very tough reaction to its support to Globalisation. All the govt. formed in
India in the globalisation era failed, all the prime ministers never came back
to power. People of India irrespective of their political leaning opposed
globalisation and voted against it. But with the help of fundamentalism and
faciscm; globalisation and its policy implemented very successfully on inidan
mass.

Todays India; Indian mass voting against all the communal partiers and against
religious politics by identifying them as their enimies. But the emptyness
created by these old communal politcs become the place of NGO groups base. NGO
groups without a political identity is a threat to Indian mass. More than 10,000
farmers sucide happen in Inida last 5 to 7years time our NGO organisations are
not able to do anything. Because of having no political Identity they are not
able to organise the mass and give a shape to the struggle.


More than 150 SEZ are created in India with in 2years time! What is the
response of NGOs to this issue? What kind of political agitation and political
opposition nation wide created because of NGO interference in the said SEZ
policy of central govt? NGO politics is creating nothing but more Individuals
and human Gods than a mass political movement and this is damaging the focus of
Indian politics again. Our politics always structured on the slogan of Indira is
India only. Indira, Rajiv, Sonia, Vajpey, Advani�..this transforming to each
individual NGO. Is it good and advisable for the future of all struggles
emerging in India?

With in 6months to 12months Singure we pull out into the history but what
about the real SEZ which established under the shadows of Singur agitation
supported by Mamta-BJP-NGO-Extreme left?Backdoor entry of Wallmarts in Indian consumer market going to kill 1000s ofjobs in the farming sector from the first day itself! What about the agitationssuppose to come up against this issue? Why our NGOs are so silent on suchissues?
Are they welcome the entry of Wallmarts to India? The struggle against
coco coal at Plachimada, Kerala organized by NGO groups ends without getting a
proper result. But the political willingness of the people of the state still
carrying the struggle. Left govt. try to ban cola in Kerala, Elected
representatives of the Panchayat given 3months license to pepsi with 13 tough
regulations to follow.'Why should Singur's farmers subsidise Tata?';Dinesh Trivedi;Let me begin with telling you that people are in for a big surprise. Mamta Bannerjee is fasting and she is not resorting to any short cuts to end her fast. She is only drinking water. She is under the supervision of a party member who is a medical practitioner.Television cameras and people are watching her 24/7. She will end her fast only if Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee agrees in principle to return the land of those farmers of Singur who have not given their consent to surrender the land. The crux of the matter is that Bhattacharjee thinks that there are only one per cent of farmers whose lands have been acquired (legally under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894) without their consent. But we have affidavits of more than 3,000 farmers whose land has been acquired without their consent.Mamta's fast has called the Communist Party of India-Marxist's bluff. Today the Bharatiya Janata Party has announced that they will take the issue of Singur and the issue of the forced land acquisition even outside West Bengal.A few weeks before Durga Puja, Mamta Didi had told me, 'I am willing to die for the farmers' cause.'She said she is fed up with the atrocities of the CPI-M. She doesn't have any political party's support to fight them. Don't laugh at Mamta while watching television. She deserves your support. Remember that in the coming years of globalisation and liberalisation the issue of land acquisition will be the biggest issue and Mamta will emerge the biggest farmer leader of India.Thirty years back, the CPI-M and its Left allies came to power on the slogan of land reforms. They said that tillers should have the rights over land. After 30 years, although the land is with the tillers, the ownership papers -- its titles have not been transferred yet by the Left government. It's cheating and Mamta is bringing back this issue to the forefront.Those who are supporting the Tatas and the government are people living in Kolkata whose land was transferred by the government without transferring ownership. They have taken money from the government by agreeing to give up their so-called land in Singur to the Tatas.The poor farmers were blackmailed, in election after election, by Left leaders. They were told that if they won't vote for them they will not, eventually, get 'ownership papers' of the land.Mamta has found a purpose to fight. If she dies, she has said the state government and the chief minister will be responsible for it. I believe the Tatas can't escape blame too.Why should any state or central government acquire land and hand it over to private industries? Why can't Tatas go to village panchayats and negotiate for land and pay the market price? In Gujarat, private industries are dealing directly with panchayats.The government enters at the last stage. If Tata is really committed to making a small and cheap car for the people why are they offered free water, land and electricity? What stops the government from making public the deal it entered into with the Tatas?Mamta has survived so far because there is tremendous response from people which media people are unable to see. Let me tell you, it's all a game of money, big money. Don't forget Tatas give advertisements to the media.We are merely telling the chief minister to agree in principle that you will return the land of those disagreeing farmers but the chief minister says it's not possible because if their land is located in the middle of the project then there can be legal problems. We are saying that to come to the negotiating table first you agree 'in principle' that the farmers' land will be returned.Mamta's politics over the hunger strike is 200 per cent pro-poor. It's wrong to say she jumped into the field much later to benefit politically. When she went to Singur, she was beaten by the police, her blouse was torn.Later wherever she went the government imposed Section 144 [of the IPC, preventing assembly] to prevent her from addressing farmers. She was forced to take up the last weapon of resistance because all other routes were closed to her.She didn't attend meetings called by Tata or the government because in those meetings the agenda was vague. They didn't speak about Singur, they kept talking about industrialisation, development and broad ideas. The people of Singur offered Tata a plot of land on the other side of the village, which is a bit low-lying and needed to be filled up. But the Tatas want everything on a platter. They don't want to spend money, so they want land which is fertile and the lifeline of the people. Why should the farmers of Singur subsidise Tata's one-lakh rupee car?If God forbid, anything happens to Mamta didi, Tata will never be able to get an inch of land in West Bengal. The state will plunge into uncertainty.When I met former chief minister Jyoti Basu, even he told me, 'Don't let Mamta die.' He told me his security guard was telling him that his highly fertile land has been acquired by the government in Singur.Tata is like the East India Company of modern days. Tata and the government are using the media by giving them advertisements and giving them wrong data.Tata doesn't mind destroying the 'rice bowl of India' for the sake of setting up a car factory.We believe we need a cheap car and food to eat, both are important. Why destroy the economy of farmers and ecology of the area when other alternatives are available?As told to Sheela Bhatt;Millions of men and women hide their yellow or discolored toenails and avoid wearing sandals or open-toed shoes because they're embarrassed by the appearance of their feet. But in 2007, an "attractive feet and toenails" resolution is within reach due to breakthrough topical, exfoliating products that eliminate discoloration under toenails and dry, cracked skin on heels and toes. (PRWeb Dec 24, 2006) Post Comment:Trackback URL: http://www.prweb.com/zingpr.php/SG9yci1Ib3JyLVRoaXItVGhpci1NYWduLVplcm8=
Men are taking to brightly coloured shoes to bring in the festive season on a colourful note!
Four Chinese shoemakers have filed a lawsuit against the European Commission, asking that it annul the 16.5 percent duty it charges for leather shoes imported into Europe, the companies lawyer said. The lawsuit was filed in the European Court of First Instance, the bloc’s second-highest court, by four companies: Brosmann Footwear in Hong Kong; Seasonable Footwear in Zhong Shan; Lung Pao Footwear in Guangzhou; and the Risen Footwear Company in Hong Kong. The suit asks that the tariffs be dropped for those companies. The commission started charging the import tariffs in October, arguing that Chinese leather shoes are being dumped at illegally low prices, ruining European shoemakers. The commission also says these Chinese shoemakers have an unfair advantage because of cheap state loans, property rentals and tax breaks