Her regime has come as a disappointment to those who had held high hopes from her
Paradoxical as it may sound, a common Bengali, who a year ago perceived Mamata Banerjee as the symbol of change and reform, now believes that the lady occupying the office of the chief minister has turned into an autocrat. After being swept to power following a historic win last year, she has seemingly betrayed the hope and aspiration of the people. People who brought her on the promise of reform: creation of jobs and a concusive atmosphere to compete with the other developed states, feel frustrated at her maverick-style politics and illogical political actions.
Her move to table a no-confidence motion against the Manmohan Singh government has been met with contempt. People realise that her actions smack of political immaturity and would prove to be counter productive for the state and its people. They cite the gains of Bihar where the NDA Chief Minister Nitish Kumar maintains a cordial relation with the prime minister and is getting huge funds.
Even some Trinmool leaders have been sceptical of Mamata’s no-confidence move. How, after all, was it going to benefit Bengal? She had no reply or logic to justify her action. It was simply her hurt ego that forced her to adopt such extreme postures. She has courted the state’s formidable Muslim vote bank and uses Muslim idioms and phrases to reach out to her audience. But her personal dislike for Manmohan Singh is so acute that she even approached the BJP soliciting its help in the Parliament. This was clearly distasteful to the Muslim clergy. Shahi Imam of the Tipu Sultan Mosque, Noor-ur-Ramhan Barkati who had extended unequivocal support to Mamata described her move as “unfortunate”. As if this was not enough, she has started praising Narendra Modi, the controversial Gujarat chief minister.
Mamata trounced the Left Front on the promise of ushering in change and a complete transformation of the body politic as well the society. But instead of heralding a new era, the chief minister started on another course: taking on perceived ills of the society. Her clarion call on marriages is something of a classic: please do not marry Left cadres, was her sage advice to the people of the state.
She conveniently forgot social equations and realities. People who migrated to West Bengal in 1951 from erstwhile East Pakistan and later in 1971 from Bangladesh constitute the main support base of the Trinmool Congress. Though some native Bengalis too have supported Trinmool, the fact remains that they continue to be the support base of the Congress. Her call was severely criticised by the intelligentsia; in fact it marks the beginning of their disenchantment with Mamata. Her main supporter, Jnanpith and Magsaysay award winner Mahasweta Devi, has turned critic and described the Trinamool government as ‘Fascist.’ They perceived it as an attempt to divide the monolithic Bengali society.
Her year-long tenure has seen a sharp division among intellectuals who once backed her, with some believing that she was ‘autocratic’ and ‘intolerant to criticism’. Educationist Sunanda Sanyal, litterateur Mahasweta Devi, actor Kaushik Sen, writer Nabarun Bhattacharjee, Bengali poet Sankha Ghosh, all have been critical of the chief minister. Sunanda Sanyal says, “Certain traits in her seem autocratic to me. Professors should not have been arrested, neither should newspapers have been banned in state libraries. She is following in the footsteps of the previous Left Front governments. This is certainly not a change for the better”. Kabir Suman, famous singer, musician and rebel Trinamool Congress MP, said “Once I used to write songs praising her qualities. I can’t do that anymore.”
Paradoxical as it may sound, a common Bengali, who a year ago perceived Mamata Banerjee as the symbol of change and reform, now believes that the lady occupying the office of the chief minister has turned into an autocrat. After being swept to power following a historic win last year, she has seemingly betrayed the hope and aspiration of the people. People who brought her on the promise of reform: creation of jobs and a concusive atmosphere to compete with the other developed states, feel frustrated at her maverick-style politics and illogical political actions.
Her move to table a no-confidence motion against the Manmohan Singh government has been met with contempt. People realise that her actions smack of political immaturity and would prove to be counter productive for the state and its people. They cite the gains of Bihar where the NDA Chief Minister Nitish Kumar maintains a cordial relation with the prime minister and is getting huge funds.
Even some Trinmool leaders have been sceptical of Mamata’s no-confidence move. How, after all, was it going to benefit Bengal? She had no reply or logic to justify her action. It was simply her hurt ego that forced her to adopt such extreme postures. She has courted the state’s formidable Muslim vote bank and uses Muslim idioms and phrases to reach out to her audience. But her personal dislike for Manmohan Singh is so acute that she even approached the BJP soliciting its help in the Parliament. This was clearly distasteful to the Muslim clergy. Shahi Imam of the Tipu Sultan Mosque, Noor-ur-Ramhan Barkati who had extended unequivocal support to Mamata described her move as “unfortunate”. As if this was not enough, she has started praising Narendra Modi, the controversial Gujarat chief minister.
Mamata trounced the Left Front on the promise of ushering in change and a complete transformation of the body politic as well the society. But instead of heralding a new era, the chief minister started on another course: taking on perceived ills of the society. Her clarion call on marriages is something of a classic: please do not marry Left cadres, was her sage advice to the people of the state.
She conveniently forgot social equations and realities. People who migrated to West Bengal in 1951 from erstwhile East Pakistan and later in 1971 from Bangladesh constitute the main support base of the Trinmool Congress. Though some native Bengalis too have supported Trinmool, the fact remains that they continue to be the support base of the Congress. Her call was severely criticised by the intelligentsia; in fact it marks the beginning of their disenchantment with Mamata. Her main supporter, Jnanpith and Magsaysay award winner Mahasweta Devi, has turned critic and described the Trinamool government as ‘Fascist.’ They perceived it as an attempt to divide the monolithic Bengali society.
Her year-long tenure has seen a sharp division among intellectuals who once backed her, with some believing that she was ‘autocratic’ and ‘intolerant to criticism’. Educationist Sunanda Sanyal, litterateur Mahasweta Devi, actor Kaushik Sen, writer Nabarun Bhattacharjee, Bengali poet Sankha Ghosh, all have been critical of the chief minister. Sunanda Sanyal says, “Certain traits in her seem autocratic to me. Professors should not have been arrested, neither should newspapers have been banned in state libraries. She is following in the footsteps of the previous Left Front governments. This is certainly not a change for the better”. Kabir Suman, famous singer, musician and rebel Trinamool Congress MP, said “Once I used to write songs praising her qualities. I can’t do that anymore.”
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
| ExecutiveMBA |
