Mamata-Tata reset? 17 years after Tata said 'bye bye’ to Bengal, Mamata says hello again; meets Tata Group chairman

NEW DELHI: Tata Group chairman N Chandrasekaran met West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata on Wednesday, signalling a possible reset in ties between the industrial group and the state.

The meeting, the first between Mamata Banerjee and a Tata group chairman since Banerjee became chief minister, comes over 17 years after her agitation led to Tata motors pulling out its Nano project from Singur.


In a post on X, the TMC said, "Mamata Banerjje hosted Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons and the Tata Group, for a constructive dialogue on Bengal's industrial growth and emerging opportunities. The meeting reflected Bengal's commitment to fostering meaningful public-private partnerships that drive innovation, investment, and inclusive development."


Seventeen years ago, following a protest led by Banerjee against land acquisition for a Tata Motors facility in Singur, the company relocated the plant. At the time, the state was governed by CPM under the late Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.

The opposition Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, led by Mamata Banerjee, had led widespread protests after the state government had rejected her demand to return 400 acres land to farmers.

In a move that was termed "sad" by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tata announced his exit plan. PM Modi, who was then chief minister of Gujarat, spotted an opportunity and slid into the industrialist's DMs with a 'welcome' text. "When Ratan Tata said in a press conference in Kolkata that they are leaving West Bengal, I sent him a short SMS saying 'welcome'. And now you can see what a Re 1 (worth) SMS can do," Modi had said.

Production of Nano cars was discontinued in 2018.

At the Bengal global business summit (BGBS), held in February this year, Banerjee had said in her speech that the Tata group chairman could not make it to the summit owing to certain exigencies.

Banerjee had a detailed discussion with him on the eve of the summit. "He has assured (me) that they want to invest more and more in Bengal. And he will come to Bengal very soon and discuss (things) in detail," she had said then.