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The Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal, which catapulted to power because of the Singur and Nandigram agitations, on Friday decided to withdraw cases filed by previous Left Front regime against activists, including two ministers and a prominent Trinamool Congress MP.
"Of the cases filed by the previous Left Front government against activists in Singur and Nandigram, the state government has decided to withdraw cases against 303 in Nandigram and 122 in Singur on the basis of merit of those cases," Panchayat Minister Subrata Mukherjee told reporters in Kolkata.
The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting presided over by the chief minister, a day after she hit out at the CBI for apparently giving a clean chit to the erstwhile Left Front government in the Nandigram police firing which had claimed 14 lives in 2007.
Those against whom the government has decided to withdraw cases include Trinamool Congress MLA from Singur in Hooghly district and minister for Statistics and Programme Implementation Rabindranath Bhattacharjee.
The MLA, a retired headmaster, played a role in the anti-land acquisition movement spearheaded by Banerjee at Singur which saw the Tatas exit their Nano car project.
The other minister who is also from the same district is Becharam Manna, is holding the agriculture portfolio as a state minister.
The MP against whom cases are pending is Subhendu Adhikary, who played a pivotal role in the Nandigram movement and a party leader in the East Midnapur district.
Mukherjee said there were a number of applications by activists seeking withdrawal of cases against them which they said were filed vindictively.
Image: West Bengal CM Mamata Bannerjee