Wednesday, September 27 2006 12:31 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress workers yesterday (Sept 26, 2006) blocked rail and road traffic for an hour across West Bengal against land acquisition for the Tata Motors small car project as a precursor to the October nine Bangla Bandh, with the Congress extending support, as an unruffled West Bengal Government carried on with paying compensation to land losers.

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, who had last night gone on dharna at the BDO's office at Singur, where the Tata project was to be located, was physically removed by the police and dropped off in Kolkata in the small hours.

She, however, headed for the Gandhi statue on the Maidan and carried on her dharna and a fast, which she ended after a telephone call from Union Home minister Shivraj Patil and a request by I&B minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi.

"Patil rang me up and assured me that that the Centre will enquire into the police action at Singur. We do not expect justice from the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government," she told reporters before ending her dharna.

Dasmunshi who arrived in Kolkata this morning, drove straight to the Gandhi's statue and condemned the alleged manhandling of the Trinamool supremo said it was not only an insult to her, but also to the women in Bengal.

He said "The West Bengal government apparently has something to hide about the Tata Motors project, in the way the CPI(M) and the government are trying push through the land acquisition without taking the opposition into confidence by calling an all party meeting."