IANS

Kolkata, Aug 6: There were no victors in the Singur land acquisition stand-off, Nobel Laureate economist Amartya Sen has said, urging political parties to sit together and find a way out for the benefit of West Bengal.

"I think the debate has not been resolved. It it not a victory for anyone. It is an opportunity to regroup and find a way out so that this poor state benefits," Sen said while delivering the third Penguin Annual Lecture on "Justice and India" here Wednesday evening.

Sen said that in hindsight, it appeared that Tata Motors should have purchased outright the Singur land for their Nano factory. "It would have been less expensive for them than their losses due to Singur."

The economist said land acquisition by the government should be the last resort in such projects and not the first.

"We need industries in Bengal. We lost a great opportunity... It is very easy to agitate people on such issues," he said, in an oblique reference to the Trinamool Congress-led opposition in West Bengal.

"And if the opposition comes to power, it has to address the issue of poverty. They have to say how income can be generated," he added.