Protest Ban in WB quashed

[Saddle Bronc 124]

BBC Link

West Bengal protest ban quashed

The high court in the Indian state of West Bengal has cancelled a ban on gatherings at Singur, the site of a controversial car project.

The state government acquired around 1,000 acres of farmland at Singur and handed it to the Tata group, which plans to manufacture a "People's Car".

The car will be priced at just over $2,200 and sold all over India.

But the plant has been opposed by protesters angry over the acquisition of farmland for the project.

Opponents of the state government say land is being confiscated by force. But the Marxist government says it is desperately trying to attract investment to rejuvenate the state's ailing economy.

It had issued police with "prohibitory orders" to prevent gatherings of dissenting farmers and political activists nearby the site.

'High-handedness'

But on Wednesday, Justice Dipankar Dutta of the Calcutta High Court said the government's move impeded the right to free movement and should be cancelled.

The judge said the ban at Singur was "a classic case of administrative high-handedness".

The leader of the main opposition Trinamul Congress party, Mamata Banerji, described the court ruling as a "victory of the people".

Ms Banerji had led protests against the project.

State Transport Minister Subhas Chakrabarty, known for his opposition to Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya's rapid industrialisation plans, said "prohibitory orders become a blunt sword if used frequently".

However, a top home ministry official, Prasad Ranjan Roy, defended the government's decision, saying the ban followed violence in the area.

"You have all seen the violence at Singur. That is why the prohibitory orders were enforced there," he said.

Note: The only surprise here is that the High Court had the guts to obliquely tell the state government the open-secret "you can't enforce an anti-bandh ordinance in Bengal--so don't waste our time with it".

[almaty 19]

good price for a car

[Saddle Bronc 124]

good price for a car

What I heard is that it's shipped KD and then assembled at point-of-sale.

Plus, you're thinking in US$--in local currency, the price is Rs. 105,000 pre-tax.