PORIBORTAN MAMATA STYLE

Bikash Choudhury


‘Chief Minister barging into a police station to release one of her party cadres caught the news paper headline’ a few months back. It was non other than Ms. Mamata Banerjee, the West Bengal Chief Minister at Kolkata. The entire nation got shocked; forcing the Governor Mr. Narayanan to disapprove such an act. But, Bangali Babus who know ‘Didi Bhai’ closely were not surprised. Later on the hooliganism of student’s wing of Trinamool Congress in college campuses and manhandling of Principal of a college was caught on camera; but, ignored by the chief minister and her party. Subsequently Mamata embarrassed the Prime Minister and the Country by declining to join the delegation of PM in his Bangladesh visit; all of sudden, on the Tessta water sharing issue with Bangladesh though she was consulted earlier by Shiv Shankar Menon, National Security Adviosr. And, now her strident opposition of her own Railway Minister of her own party Sri Dinesh Trivedi shows complete surrender to competitive populism quite contrast to her own election manifesto which promised “poribortan”. Is this the change she wishes to usher into long neglected state of West Bengal after a long and hard struggle against the red brigade that includes Singur agitation? Is there any method to her madness? She is actually a veteran of agitational politics and finds it very difficult to adjust with developmental politics as playing into gallery has become her second nature. May be her toils and tribulation against left front has made her completely negative whereas in victory mass leaders and states men court a large heart-forget & forgive to make a constructive beginning; it is strange and surprising to see Mamata a prolific author and poet succumbing to gross populism which will cause her more harm than any good. Already she would have lost a chunk of her mandate in West Bengal and earned a negative perception with the younger population across the country.
Those who have gone through the Trinamool Congress manifesto before the assembly election would have certainly hoped for a developmental agenda of Mamata led West Bengal Government and not a confrontational menu against central govt. in lock stock and barrel. Mamata needs to learn a thing or two from Odisha Chief Minister, Sri Naveen Patnaik and Bihar Chief Minister, Sri Nitish Kumar who perform with quite efficiency within their meager resources of their respective state while fighting with centre (biased & politically motivated policies & politics) on issues of resources allocation and devolution of powers which has earned them a stature on political management across the country.

Mamata should not follow in the foot steps of her predecessor who in thirty years brought down an industrially developed state to the mercy of agrarian economy on a false pretext of labor class. She should rather follow her own manifesto where in she had promised to develop the city of Kolakata into London, international standard infrastructure and Maa, Matee & Manus. Otherwise her opponents would happily go to the bank to encash peoples mandate in next available opportunity.