BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Friday led a “Ratan Tata memorial march” in Singur, with chest-thumping claims of an industrial rejuvenation in Bengal should his party come to power.

The move was an obvious attempt by the BJP to build a fresh narrative around the lack of industrialisation in Bengal, targeting the ruling Trinamul Congress dispensation. In Singur, where many farmers believe Tata’s departure was a mistake, this issue remains potent.

However, the Nandigram MLA’s attempt seemed to signify little, despite the sound and fury, as the presence of local farmers at the event was sparse in the area where the pro-industry population still predominantly backs the CPM.

“Singur farmers are still divided into two political camps. The farmers who supported the Nano car factory are with the CPM, while those opposed to it are with the ruling Trinamul. If the BJP wants to utilise the Singur issue against Mamata Banerjee, the only option is to secure the support of the pro-industry farmers,” said a BJP leader from Hooghly.

“That’s why Suvenduda planned the rally, leveraging the recent demise of the industrial icon,” he added.

Adhikari attacked Trinamul for driving the Tatas away from Singur.

“We have assembled here today to apologise to the departed soul of Ratan Tataji on behalf of the people of Bengal. I want to assure you that we will bring the Tata Group back to the state if we come to power in Bengal,” claimed Adhikari -- a Trinamul turncoat who was a cabinet colleague of Mamata Banerjee till December 2020, and a key figure in a similar anti-land acquisition movement led by her in Nandigram in the past.

Adhikari, now the leader of the Opposition in the 294-seat Assembly, was addressing a gathering near the remains of the boundary wall of the abandoned Tata Nano car factory in Singur.

Tata had almost completed its small car factory on about 1,000 acres of land in 2006. However, Ratan Tata, the then-chairman of the Tata Group, had to abandon the project in 2008, following a relentless movement by local farmers opposed to industry on fertile land. Then the principal leader of the Opposition, Mamata had led the movement, which was key to her ascent to power in 2011.

“Before leaving Bengal, Ratan Tata, who never made political comments during his lifetime, said that he was leaving because of the “bad M” (Mamata) and going to the “good M” (then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi),” Adhikari added, recalling Tata’s sensational statement while announcing the relocation of the small car factory from Bengal’s Singur to Gujarat’s Sanand.

Before addressing the crowd, Adhikari led the kilometer-long memorial march from Singur’s Sahanapara to the Tata boundary wall near Durgapur Expressway. BJP workers participated in the silent march, holding pictures of Tata, who passed away on October 9.

“The Tata factory could not be set up in Singur because the CPM did not ensure a payout for the 2,000 sharecroppers, and failed to clear the road obstructed by Mamata Banerjee,” he said.

The CPM quickly counterattacked, pointing out that both his former and current political parties were complicit in driving Tata out of Singur.

“There may have been one or two farmers who joined the BJP’s march, but the majority remember Suvendu Adhikari’s role in the Singur movement. He should first ask Rajnath Singh why he supported Mamata’s “Tata tarao (drive Tata away)” movement,” said Pravat Banerjee, a local CPM leader and member of the All India Kisan Sabha.

“How can he forget that he was part of Mamata’s party and played a pivotal role in driving Tata away from our area?” Banerjee questioned.

Adhikari, however, clarified that although he was with the TMC at the time, he never participated in Mamata’s 26-day hunger strike in Calcutta demanding the ousting of Tata from Singur.

“At that time, we were only 30 (TMC) MLAs, and I was the only legislator who didn’t attend Mamata Banerjee’s hunger strike. I couldn’t protest, but I never supported Tata’s departure from Singur,” Adhikari now claimed.

Becharam Manna, the TMC’s Haripal MLA and the agricultural marketing minister, countered the statement, asserting that Adhikari and his father, Sisir Adhikari, had both attended Mamata’s fast in 2008 and had publicly accused the Tata Group and Ratan Tata of being agents of the CPM.

“The people of Singur don’t trust those who frequently switch political allegiances. It was Suvendu Adhikari who attended Didi’s hunger strike and called Ratan Tata a CPM agent. Now, he’s staging a drama by organising a Ratan Tata memorial march,” said Manna.