Outlook – July 06, 2019

BENGAL BLUES

by Rajat Roy in Calcutta

T

HE BJP’s rise in Bengal as a
major power and its formidable
challenge to the ruling party
could yield unexpected divi-
dends—a possible repreive and
recompense for those at the
receiving end of TMC officials’ mone-
tary demands. Mamata reportedly
berated her party apparatchiks for
taking cuts from beneficiaries of wel-
fare programmes and asked them to
return the ‘cut-money’. To mobilise
her party before the municipal elec-
tions, Mamata had called a meeting in
Calcutta on June 18. Addressing her
councillors, who had come from all
over the state, she vented her rage at
the allegations that her party fostered
an extortionist culture. During the
election campaign, Modi had repeat-
edly levelled the charge that TMC sup-
ported extortion.
Angry people gheraoed TMC leaders
and elected representatives of panchayats
and municipalities in Birbhum, Malda,
Cooch Behar, Purulia and Bankura dis-
tricts. They demanded that the money
taken from them to provide benefits for
various schemes of the government be
returned. A panchayat pradhan from
Birbhum district reportedly returned the
Rs 2.28 lakh that he had earlier taken
from villagers.
Mamata’s comments come at a time
when many TMC members have defected
to the BJP. Six TMC MLAs have already
switched their allegiance to the party. A
majority of the members of the South
Dinajpur zilla parishad, the highest body
in the three-tier panchayat, has joined
BJP, giving the party control of a zilla
parishad for the first time.
In 2020, around 80 municipalities,
including the Kolkata Municipal Cor-
poration, will go to polls. Before the defec-
tions, TMC presided over 125 of the 127
municipalities in the state, and Left and
Congress controlled one each, Siliguri
and Jaynagar respectively. With TMC
councillors moving to BJP, the party has
lost its majority in seven municipalities,
including Bhatpara and Darjeeling.
“This is the first wave of defection,”
warned BJP national secretary Kailash
Vijayvargiya. “There will be seven such
waves.” BJP leaders in Bengal claim
that by the last phase, there would
hardly be anyone left in TMC. A desper-

ate Mamata is now trying her best to

salvage the situation.

Faced with questions from media per-

sons at Parliament complex, Satabdi Roy,

a three-time TMC MP from Birbhum,

said that while those who took one to two

percent would be compelled to return the

money, she questioned if it would have an

impact on the “big fish”—those who took

a bigger cut. She explained that extortion

works in a “chain”—people at the bottom

of the rung get a meagre share, while

those at the top get a larger portion. If just

the former return their collections, the

higher-ups could possibly corner an even

larger percentage of funds. Mamata

should ensure that whatever was taken

“chain-wise” be refunded “chain-wise”,

Roy declared. BJP state president Dilip

Ghosh and other leaders pounced on

Roy’s comment and made it an issue to

beat the TMC with.

Sources close to TMC leaders say

that party members are furious after

Mamata’s comment as it has made them

the target of people’s ire. Seeing the reac-

tion it has provoked amongst the public

as well as within the party, the top brass

is trying to minimise its impact. Partha

Chatterjee, a senior leader and spokes-

person of TMC, claimed that Mamata’s

message had been misinterpreted by the

media and stressed that “99.99 per cent”

of the people in the party were honest

and hardworking.

Though the anger against the TMC is

widespread, it is yet to assume propor-

tions that could unsettle the government.

In fact, by openly admitting that some of

her party’s elected representatives and

functionaries are corrupt and minting

money by pilfering from the govern-

ment’s development projects, Mamata

is trying to distance herself from the

electorate’s ire. Her undermining of her

party leaders and workers is reminiscent

of former Chinese premier Mao Zedong.

In order to corner his opponents within

the Chinese Communist Party, such

as Deng Xiaoping, Mao unleashed the

Cultural Revolution and raised the slogan

‘Bombard the headquarters’. In Bengal,

Mamata has invoked public wrath against

her own party workers to marginalise her

foremost adversary, BJP. It remains to be

seen, however, if this move will bestow

upon Mamata a cleaner, transparent and

trustworthy image in the coming days. O

Tensions rise as Mamata berates ‘extortionist’ TMC members

Mamata rebuked TMC

officials for taking cuts

from state welfare

beneficiaries, a move

which could give her

an image boost.

The Party Pooper

8 July 2019 OUTLOOK 15

PTI