SINGUR: Taking TATA NANO for a ride.!!!

A lot has been spoken and written about the TATA’s wonder car-NANO.
And why not, a car for Rs.1,00,000 .!!! NANO had not only managed to captivate the imagination of the whole nation, but that of the world at large. Im not prognosticating here, but going by the projections and the promise this car holds, it is about to revolutionize the automobile industry and the concept of ‘small cars’ is set to be the next big thing after the advent of hybrid cars. With input prices soaring, crude prices hovering above the 100 dollars per barrel mark (with no indication of prices dropping in the near future whatsoever) and roads increasingly growing smaller, it is not difficult to discern that small cars akin to NANO are to carve an especial niche market. I am particularly proud of the fact that an Indian MNC like TATA is the first to have conceptualized the idea and have made the world sit up and take notice.
Mr. Ratan Tata had promised in January 2008 that the first NANO would role out by October end. But that situation looks bleak now, thanks to M/s Mamata Banerjee, who is the self proclaimed ‘protector of human rights’ and ‘champion of social cause’ in West Bengal. She has managed to single handedly hold the WB state government (which IMO has no backbone!!) for ransom and has sabotaged the image of the West Bengal which was trying head over heels to come across as an industry friendly State. Our politicians are well known for their vast and vague aspirations and opportunistic stance, and M/s Banerjee is a classic example of a politician hijacking an amicably settled issue and turning it into a political melodrama.
Her party has employed cheap tactics like threatening and at times even physically assaulting employees working at the TATA project site to disrupt and derail the NANO project. She claims her real concern lies in providing justice for the villagers who have been displaced and whose lands have been ‘forcefully’ acquired by the government. But if one watches closely, her real intentions lay bare for one and all to see. M/s Banerjee’s words and actions are wrapped by personal pretensions and she seems to have a two-point agenda:
1) Gain national prominence as a champion of the downtrodden and create a fake image of being a true leader of the oppressed.
2) Hold TATA to ransom but stalling their work in the last minute and try to leverage monetary benefits.


But ultimately, if the TATAs decide to leave Singur, it would be a death blow to the future of industry in WB and M/s Banerjee’s actions, wholly devoid of national and public interest, would backfire and she would have to bear the ire of the people of State, who stand to gain a lot if the NANO project does go through successfully. I wish the TATAs and the people of WB good luck. And like the rest of the world, I’m eagerly awaiting the NANO.