“I don’t consciously support any wrong…” Mamata Banerjee rejects the ‘newfound’ comparison between Sandeshkhali and Nandigram

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday rubbished comparisons between the 2007 Nandigram movement, the 2006 Singur uprising with the Sandeshkhali protests that erupted in the little island in North 24 Paragans earlier this February. Bhartiya Janta Party( BJP) has equated the Sandeshkhali issue where several women have alleged exploitation along with forceful land grabs with that of Nandigram, insinuating if the anti-land acquisition movement in Nandigram and Singur catapulted Mamata Banerjee to power after the defeating the erstwhile Left Front regime then the land grab controversy of Sandeshkhali will be her nemesis. But the Chief Minister has lashed out at the BJP for trying to stoke trouble for the sake of politics ahead of elections.

“Whenever election comes they orchestrate incidents. Some media only show their side. Through YouTube and social media, they are only peddling fake news and canards. They are only cursing me. I tell them I don’t care as long as people are with me. Understand Nandigram is Nandigram and so is Singur and so is Khatra or Bishnupur. Every place has its own story. Comparing one with another after they themselves had stoked the riots or tension, won’t cut ice,” said Mamata Banerjee at a public distribution event in Bankura on Wednesday.

She further stressed that she would never consciously do any wrong that is not in the interest of the people. So far Bengal government has returned land illegally captured by absconding TMC leader Seikh Shahjahan, his associates Shibu Hazra, Uttam Sardar and Ajit Maity, to 150 families in Sandeshkhali while the government and police have received over 400 complaints at their redressal camps which came up in the village following the violence broke out which also exposed the “deep-seated” wrongs there.

“Make no mistake, I don’t tolerate any wrong or people being tortured, there happen any bloodbath. Those who are making big talks, should I open their records? I consciously don’t support any wrong, yet if something happens I still don’t support that. I try to help people and that’s my job,” she added. While Sardar, Hazra and Maity have been arrested, the chorus demanding the arrest of the main accused and absconding Seikh Shahjahan grows.

On March 14, 2007, at least 14 people had died in the violence that ensued in Nandigram over a land acquisition drive undertaken by the Left Front government. More than 100 people were declared missing after the violence.​