Tags: Singur , Tata Nano , Ratan Tata , Trinamool Congress , Mamata Banerjee

Kolkata: Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee does not look in a mood to forget Tata Nano and Singur. The Trinamool Congress leader returned a cheque of Rs 28 lakh sent to her by Tata Electoral Trust after verdict 2009.

However, she denied any ‘ill will against the Tatas'. According to the party sources, Mamata ordered to ‘immediately return' the election donation sent to the party by Tatas. A party MP revealed, ‘Didi flew into a rage and asked Mukul (Roy) to immediately return the cheque. She was very upset at the fact that an organisation that had blamed her for the Nano's exit had offered the Trinamul Congress money'.

The Tatas have confirmed offering of donation. A Tata spokesperson said, ‘The money was indeed offered to Ms (Mamata) Banerjee. However, please note that the Tatas do not distribute the money. The Tata Electoral Trust offers money to any party that meets the criteria laid down in its mandate'.

Tata firms provide money to the trust, set up in 1996 as one of India's first corporate endeavours to bring about transparency in election funding, but have no say in its distribution.

It is worth mentioning here that last October, Tata Motors chairman Ratan Tata had blamed Banerjee and her party for forcing him to pull the Nano project out of the state. “I once mentioned that if somebody puts a gun to my head, you pull the trigger or you take the gun away because I have not moved my head. I think Ms (Mamata) Banerjee has pulled the trigger,” he had said.

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