Month: March 2011

QUESTION : The CPI M can be defeated—how did you give the people of Bengal the belief that this belief ?

MAMATA BANERJEE :There was an impression created that the Communist would remain in Bengal forever. People expressed themselves in 2001 and 2006,but the verdict did not reflect the hopes and aspirations of the people. The Communists had taken the people and democracy for granted. From forceful rigging to scientific rigging…they have done it all.It took us a while to learn more about EVMs and nowadays we check every machine.The CPI M would scare people. Wives were threatened if their husbands did not comply. Mothers were threatened if their sons did not comply. I know of a story of a young boy was hanged upside down from a tree and a raw fish was stuffed in his mouth to suffocate him. Women in the villages of Bengal are scared o use open toilet in the fields…look how Tapasi Malik was raped in Singur.From Singur to Nandigram,Coochbehar,Howrah,Nanoor,Chinsurah,Mogra,Shantipur,Darjeeling,Satgachia, Chhota Anaria,Memari,Mangalkot,Netai,Keshpur Nanoor…the tyranny and horror has reached every district in Bengal.This is a horror story. We need to give people the confidence to exist in a democracy.

QUESTION: A lot of this has been your personal struggle…talks us through that.

MAMATA BANERJEE : The world knows the CPI M tried to kill me some years back in Hazra.They have tried on several occasions. Finishing me off was the simplest way out for them. On a dark night in Singur they put the lights off and beat me up and I was lucky to survive.Yes,I have faced death on many occasions. But as I look back the biggest risk I took was the hunger strike which lasted for 26 days. I could have died. There was a job to be done; the hunger strike was the final frontier. People had to know thereafter that the choice had to be made: the choice between right and wrong. Frankly, only a handful of people in the media supported us in 2006. Very few. We stood by our convictions. At these moments I was often guided by the words of Swami Vivekeananda:"Strength is my life/Weakness is my death".In difficult times his words inspired me and us : "At my will, I will drink the ocean" Finally people said `enough is enough`. People are now ready to stand up with conviction. We have removed the word fear from the people of Bengal.

QUESTION: Your critics say Mamata Banerjee has hijacked the agenda of the left. How would respond to this?

MAMATA BANERJEE: I do not believe in hijacking anybody`s agenda—least of all the left`s agenda. Their agenda has been one of murder, hatred, rape and loot. Our works speaks for itself. For example in 1992, when I was the Union Sports Minister, there was a group of people who came with a resolution to my office shouting slogans against me. I came down, meet them and assured them that their resolution had already being taken care off. The same people who were shouting `murdabad` while coming in, while going back, they started shouting `jindabad`. I have worked in many ministries, Sports/Coal/Youth/Rail…… I believe I know how to get work done. I have made it possible that the Railway Workers and Unions are part of the decision making process. In one and half years a lot of good work has been done in the Indian Railways.

QUESTION: You have recently said that the Trinamool Congress will get a two-thirds majority in ensuing Assembly polls… from where did you get the confidence?

MAMATA BANERJEE: I know every road, every district, and every town in Bengal. While travelling, I never sleep in the car, the eyes and ears are always wide open. In my present tenure as the Railway Minister I have put this to use. When the CPIM comments that the Railways is bankrupt, my question is– do they know the facts and figures? Every Duronto is `Jolonto` for them. We had a commitment of Rs75000 crores to be paid as backlog of Sixth Pay Commission … but still paid dividends. In the recent past, I was travelling through Uluberia. All the industry have shut down, only one biscuit farm operates. Can you tell me one planned city that they could create in the last 35 years? Even the Sarva Shiksha Abhijan teachers are not getting their salaries. The state today is bankrupt, with a debt of over 2 lakh crores. If the government is put up for auction, no one will buy it! Whatever money for infrastructure had been allotted has been used to pay salaries. They have infiltrated the police forces, the educational institutions with their own agendas. Our target is 294 seats. It`s for the Ma, Mati , Manush to decide, how many will we get. I leave it to the people.

QUESTION: Your critics say that you wouldn`t be able to deliver even if you come to power?

MAMATA BANERJEE: The CPIM always says No-no-no-no-no. But I`m an optimist,, I always say..Yes, Yes, Yes we can. We will certainly deliver with the blessings of Ma-Mati-Manush.

Kolkata, March 27: When Mamata Banerjee hit the campaign trail in Joka on Sunday for Behala East candidate Shovan Chatterjee,almost the whole of south-western fringes of the city walked with her. An elderly woman blew the conchshell from a rooftop. It seemed to be the cue. Dozens of women, probably getting ready for the evening puja, blew conchshells from their homes. For a few minutes, the rutted lanes and bylanes of this locality resonated mesmerisingly with the sound traditionally associated as much with a war cry as with reverence. The 7 km that Ms Banerjee walked, from the 3A bus stand in Joka to the number 14 stand at Behala, brought the area to a standstill and threw traffic into knots, but the man on the street seemed too captivated by the march to complain about a daily Kolkata logjam. Rows of people lining the rooftops showered petals on the procession. Thousands thronged the potholed pavements and waited hours to catch a glimpse of the agent of change. For weeks, everyone had been waiting for the moment. Will Mamata flag off the Trinamool campaign from the city or,say, Singur or Nandigram The big moment arrived at 4.40pm when Mamata Banerjee,flanked by party leaders Partha Chattopadhyay and mayor Shovan Chatterjee flagged off Trinamool`s first road show in the city. Flags fluttered,banners hung from every vantage point and supporters blew their lungs out shouting slogans. As the procession rolled on, thousands merged into it from the lanes adjoining Diamond Harbour Road. Parents with children in tow, couples on bikes and the elderly out for an evening stroll, stood on their tracks for a brush with Mamata. Those on the balconies were luckier.”I had perched myself on my neighbours verandah from 1pm.I got a clear view of her”, said Ranjit Ray of Shilpara.Rina Mallik had walked all the way from T h a k u r – p u k u r,jostling with Trinamool supporters,to watch Didi in action. “Watching her on TV doesn`t give you a complete picture of her grit and determination.” Seeing her leading the march today was an enlightening experience.Mamata is truly a gutsy leader, gushed Rina.Boundless enthusiasm overtook the march as it reached the Thakurpukur crossing at 5.10pm.”Oi je eshe gechen”, shouted an onlooker from his perch atop a bus-stop shed. It was a rush when Ms Banerjee arrived. Barricades formed by Trinamool cadres were broken as everyone dashed for a glimpse. In her customary style, Ms Banerjee waved frantically at her men and shouted instructions to restore order. It proved difficult as people from the lanes had started streaming in. About 500 metres from Thakurpukur,an elderly woman set the tone by blowing a conch shell from the terrace of a two-storey building. Several others joined in from neighbouring balconies as a thunderous applause rose from the road. It was early evening when the march reached Behala.The supporters had started dispersing but still retained a spring in their steps. The energy should come in handy as the election race hots up further.

March 8, Kolkata: Two post graduate MBA students who are passing out from IIM, Kolkata, in early April –have opted to do a one and half-month internship with Trinamool Congress, in April-May 2011. The two students (Hariharan Sriram and Mansha Tandon) wrote to Mamata Banerjee about 4 months ago. They will join a small team of seasoned politicians and other professionals to work out of Trinamool Bhawan in the run-up to the elections. “We welcome these IIM students. In fact, we welcome people from all walks of life”, said Trinamool Congress President Subrata Bakshi.

New Delhi, Feb 3: It is quite evident that Ms. Mamata Banerjee will become the next Chief Minister of West Bengal. But Trinamool Congress will not let go the railway ministry even after she becomes Chief Minister. The senior leadership of the party has decided that Ms. Banerjee would herself decide who would become the next railway minister to carry forward her good work. According to the senior leaders of the party, CPM is trying to create confusion on Ms. Banerjee`s decision of not standing for the election. But it is quite clear that she wants to campaign for all the 294 seats the alliance will fight. Therefore, she took the significant decision of not contesting in the coming assembly election. It does not matter really as she can always get elected within six months of being sworn in as Chief Minister or as she had earlier proposed, she can become an elected member of the `Vidhan Parishad`(upper house of the Assembly), which exists in states like Bihar or Maharashtra.

NEW DELHI, March 2: “Amra, tomra noy, amader Bangla,” (Not ours or theirs, but everyones Bengal), will be the Trinamool Congress`s campaign slogan for the upcoming West Bengal assembly polls. The evocative punch line is Trinamool Congress counter to hit out at chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee`s reference to the ruling side (ours) and the Opposition (theirs) that had made headlines during the post-Singur, Nandigram political polarisation in the state. With the distinct possibility of a change of regime emerging in the state after 35 years of Left Front rule, Trinamool Chair Person Mamata Banerjee has plans for a two-tier legislature in the state. She wants to form a Vidhan Parishad, or an Upper House, alongside the directly elected Vidhan Sabha. While Trinamool will include a proper plan for industrialisation in the state in the party`s poll manifesto, an advisory council on the lines of a Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) is being worked out that will comprise experts on land acquisition and other related subjects. The proposed Council will create a roadmap for industrialisation, education, health reforms and the like in the state. Ms Banerjee plans to have an elevated chief minister`s office (CMO) akin to PMO, which could even include one or two ministers of state (MoS), with designated responsibilities and a good number of joint secretary-level officers assigned to specific departments.

Kolkata, March 1: Mamata Banerjee today gave a clarion call for change, minutes after the Election Commission had announced dates for elections in Bengal. Describing the 2011 Assembly elections as “historic”, Ms Banerjee said the time and opportunity to bring in the government of Maa Mati Manush has come. Whether the change will see her taking the seat of chief minister was left unanswered by the Trinamul Congress chief, who is little more than a month away from fighting the most crucial electoral battle of her life. “This is a historic election and people will make history by bringing in a new government of Maa Mati Manush. People will take the decision on whether they will give us an opportunity,” she said at a media conference at her Kalighat residence minutes after the EC`s announcement. The Trinamul Chairperson claimed that Bengal`s voters would not give the Left an eighth term in Writers` Buildings. Mamata quoted from Rabindranath Tagore during the 20-minute news conference. “Elections will be held in the month of Baishakh, the beginning of the Bengali New Year. The victory ride of the new will start. Tumi nabo nabo rupe esho prane (May you come into my life in ever new forms),” she said, adding that the EC had done the right thing by announcing polls in six phases. Ms Banerjee urged people to go to the polling booths early, and vote for change and development. “In the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, when people got the opportunity to express their views in the ballot box, they voted for change. The people wanted Assembly polls to be held early. Now, the time has come,” she said. The Trinamul chief issued a warning that loyalty towards the party and dedicated effort towards democracy, and not lobbying, will be the criteria for selecting candidates. Hitting out at the Left government, Mamata repeated her charges of non-performance and accused the ruling coalition of making empty promises. “They are not coming back to power. How will they keep promises?” Mamata asked.