In a significant move to end the impasse over the vexed land acqusition issue in Nandigram and Singur, veteran Marxist leader Jyoti Basu on Monday held talks on with Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee as both the leaders expressed the confidence about an amicable settlement."I invited her for talks and she readily agreed. After hearing her, I feel her demands need to be looked into,'' Basu told reporters immediately after his meeting at his Salt Lake residence.
Mamata, for her part, said, "I am happy that he listened to all the details from me about Nandigram and Singur. I will meet him again if he calls me after discussing the matter with the concerned people."
This was the first time that the two leaders met to discuss a political issue since the firebrand TC leader, who has been spearheading an agitation on Singur and Nandigram issues, broke away from Congress in 1998 to emerge as the main opposition leader in West Bengal.
The Basu-Mamata meeting assumes significance as it was held in the backdrop of the aborted all-party meeting on Nandigram on May 24 and a subsequent decision of the state's ruling Left Front on June 2 that a future initiative for a peace meeting should be taken by the CPI-M.
Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee however, declined to comment on the discussions between Basu and Mamata.
© Copyright 2007 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.
|
Advertisement
Email this Article 
Print this Article