Singur, Nov. 15: The government has time till December 2 to return 400 acres taken from Singur’s “unwilling” land losers, else Mamata Banerjee will herself turn vegetable vendor and potato farmer.

The warning came from Singur where the Trinamul Congress chief had gone to mark Tapasi Malik divas.

“If our demand (for the return of 400 acres) is not fulfilled, the government will face the music. I shall sow potato seeds on the acquired land and also sell cucumber and tea in and around Singur as a symbolic protest demanding decent livelihood for the poor farmers,” she told a rally standing on one side of Durgapur Expressway while her supporters squatted on the road, blocking traffic for two hours.

Mamata, though, did not explain how she would grow the potatoes on a piece of land, most of which has already been developed for industrial use. Trinamul sources said the protest plan would be drawn up on December 2 when Mamata would hold another rally in Singur. They did not specify if their leader would again block the expressway to sell vegetables.

The idea of turning vendor is not new to Mamata. She sold old clothes in Gariahat to protest the hawkers’ eviction under Operation Sunshine in 2000.

“We have no problem if any industry comes up on 600 acres. But we are concerned about those unwilling farmers who are almost starving after their land was forcibly acquired,” she said.

Today’s rally was organised in the memory of 18-year-old Tapasi Malik, a campaigner of the Save Farmland Committee who was found burnt to death at the Tata Nano site on December 18, 2006. On November 11, 2008, a fast-track court convicted CPM leader Suhrid Dutta and party activist Debu Malik in the case and handed them life terms. Mamata today led a procession to the Maliks’ home in Bajemelia.

Unlike the November 2 rally when leader of the Opposition Partha Chatterjee’s car was attacked by members of the Nano Banchao Committee, there was no violence at today’s meet. Mamata had a word of caution for the Nano Banchao Committee also. “Don’t quarrel among yourselves by falling into the CPM’s trap. Get united to take back your land,” was her advice.

She also voiced support for the agitation by tribals in Lalgarh against police atrocities in West Midnapore.

“Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee will have to face a backlash from tribals as he has done nothing to improve their lot,” she said.