'Singur resembles Tiananmen Square protests'

'What is happening today in West Bengal resembles closely to what happened in Tiananmen Square," feels Trinamool Congress general secretary and Rajya Sabha member Dinesh Trivedi.

Addressing delegates of the India-US Forum of Parliamentarians on 'Special Economic Zones in India: Identifying Opportunities and Evaluating Risks' at the Asia Society in New York on Tuesday, Trivedi likened the situation in Singur in West Bengal, where the state government has acquired agricultural land for the Tatas, with the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in China.

"We do not have tanks there, but we have people there going to farmers' houses and beating them up and threatening to kill them," he said.

The six parliamentarians, who took part in the two-hour long discussion included Robert Kharshiing, chief whip of the Nationalist Congress Party, Ajay Maroo of the Bharatiya Janata Party, B J Pandya of Biju Janata Dal, Sachin Pilot of the Congress and Suresh Prabhu of the Shiv Sena.

Singur is the name that has become synonymous with Special Economic Zones, Trivedi said, adding that although it was not actually an SEZ, it symbolised the central questions relating to the land acquisitions by various state governments in the name of SEZs.

He said the debate is not about SEZs, but about democratic rights of poor people.

"We have been talking about adopting the China model (where SEZs were first conceptualised), but then do we want to adopt the Tiananmen Square model also," Trivedi asked.

"While it was very nice to be in this very lovely room, it would have been better had there been some poor farmers present sitting here and talking about their plight. Just because they happened to be the poorest of the poor, and do not have any voice, you want to take their land.

"Try and take a golf club and I dare the government of India to do that. You won't be able to do that because they are influential people," he said.

Although not all Members of Parliament belonging to other parties were in apparent agreement with what Trivedi said, a consensus emerged that while there was no denying the fact that SEZs are required for India's development, it will take some time before a unanimous decision could be taken in terms of land acquisition for SEZ and implementation of the guidelines.

"The debate is far from over. Issues are not decided overnight in a democracy like India where it is always a consensus building process. We have seen that when it comes to economic reforms in general and on this SEZ the consensus has not been reached. It will take us some time," said Pandya.

"Just as in life, so in politics perceptions are sometimes more important than reality. In my view, the intention behind creating SEZs was right. After all, if you have to build industries in India, you can't make them in the air. You do need land for it," Pilot observed.

"The question to think is whether the land is fertile or not. And secondly, why do our state governments have to acquire land for corporations. I belong to the ruling party and we want SEZs, but let us find the best possible options through discussions," he said.

Prabhu, a former cabinet minister also expressed similar sentiment when he said that the concept of SEZs is not a problem, but the issues that is giving rise to agitations is the implementation.

Earlier, the US India Business Council along with FICCI that facilitated the parliamentarians visit to New York hosted a luncheon in honor of the lawmakers at the prestigious Harvard Club in Manhattan.

USIBC board member Timothy G Massad welcomed the lawmakers in the presence of Consul General Neelam Deo.

In response to a question from Massad as to what India wants from US and what US should look for India, several lawmakers said Washington should recognise India for what it truly is.