Tata Motors' car project in Singur is mired in controversy over the acquisition of agricultural land and forcible eviction of farmers.
Ratan Tata, however, said they would not pull out of the state. In an interview with NDTV 24x7 Ratan Tata says his group will not pull out of the Singur project, despite the growing political controversy. Tata, who has been voted NDTV's 'Indian of the Year', said the proposed Tata Motors [Get Quote] project had clearly got caught up in "a political quagmire." Tata also blamed his competitors, whom he did not name specifically for the controversy. "Let me just say, this is not just political. I happen to know that some of our competitors are also fuelling some of this fire and would be very happy if the project got delayed." Tata told NDTV.
Asked whether the Tatas were apprehensive about the growing controversy and would consider moving the project to another state, Tata said his group would not surrender to political pressure.
"No, if I believed that we are doing something wrong, then I would be the first one to pull out. If I believe, that this is being manipulated and turned around to meet some specious cause, then I think, what I would do is to dig my heels in.
I'm the sort of person who if you put a gun to my head, you can pull the trigger or take the gun away, but I won't move my head."
On the Tatas' takeover bid of British steel company Corus, Ratan Tata described the bidding war with the Brazilian company CSN as "unfortunate".
Asked whether the Tatas would be willing to bid higher than they have already, Ratan Tata did not answer directly, but said "there is a limit to which one might consider the enterprise value to be".
He made it clear that the Tatas could only set a price level that made "strategic sense and doesn't endanger or jeopardise the strength and health of our own shareholders."
When NDTV asked Ratan Tata how far he was willing to go to ensure that the takeover was successful, he said, "first of all it's not an ego issue and it's not an issue of winning. It's not an issue of being the 5th largest steel company either. What drove me and Tata Steel [Get Quote] to look at the acquisition was that strategically and in terms of synergy, we had an opportunity unequalled."
On who would succeed Ratan Tata, in 2012, he said, "The successor would be named probably, a year before I retire," and did not necessarily have to be someone from within the family.
Asked to comment on the speculation that Noel Tata was the chosen successor and whether his successor would have to be someone with a Tata surname, he said, "It doesn't have to be. I am not saying he is or is not. I don't think the choice will necessarily be confined to that."
Photograph: Arko Datta/AFP/Getty Images
The interview will be telecast at 10 p.m on Saturday on NDTV 24x7.
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