Two Years of 'Maa, Maati, Maanush' and Mamata

Maverick leader Mamata Banerjee completed two years as the chief minister of West Bengal after ending thirty five years of communist rule. This is not a long enough time to see the results of the change. But, it is not so short a period to not to throw up signs of improvement. Sadly, both the results and signs are missing from the spectre of hope in West Bengal.

Mamata Banerjee made the Trinamool Congress the force that it is chiefly on two counts; one, the obsolete model of governance by the Left Front and second, the rising aspiration of people in the state. Two developmental conflicts at Singur and Nandigram proved to be the point of critical mass for a revolution like change of power in West Bengal. On both the occasions, Mamata Banerjee gave the call, 'Maa, Maati, Maanush'. But, it seems she has forgotten every thing that she promised during her campaign for ascendancy.

In the very first year of her rule, Mamata faced one the most embarrassing and shameful incidents when a couple of hospitals in the state turned into mortuaries. More than a hundred infants died in the incubators in hospitals like BC Roy memorial and others. Mamata Banerjee first chose to ignore the deaths, followed it up by terming the deaths as drama and finally blamed it on the previous left front government. The 'Maa' of the slogan was left totally betrayed.

Mamata rose to the chair of chief minister in West Bengal using the ladders of Singur and Nandigram. Tata Motors' manufacturing unit was to come up at Singur, where land acquisition had been done, rather controversially. Mamata and the leaders of the Bhoomi Ucched Pratirodh Committee believed so the least. At Nandigram, Salim Group of Indonesia was to establish a chemical factory. Both industrial employment oriented projects were sacrificed at the altar of Mamata's politics. When she sworn in as the chief minister, many believed that an amicable and pro-people solution would be found for the two 'problems'. Nothing of that sort has happened till date.

At both Singur and Nandigram, two kinds of farmers were involved. One, who gave their land willingly and two, those who claimed that they did so under coercion or allurement. In any case, they have not got their land back even though the two projects have long been shelved. The matters are caught in legal tangles rendering many farmers on the verge of beggary. Mamata's promises to 'Maati and Maanush' fell flat. Her government did launch a scheme to meet the food requirements of the people of the affected region but the well known inefficiency of the public distribution system has not served any good.

Mamata Banerjee always accused the Left Front government of carrying out political murders and silencing opposition, thus denying the right to freedom of expression. She seems to have mastered the art herself. Political murders have only upped in West Bengal's interior. Her attacks on the intelligentsia have come under sharp criticism and condemnation nationwide. Even Mahashweta Devi has chosen to part ways with the TMC chief.

Corruption is only getting institutionalized in the state. Saradha scam and company's links with Mamata Banerjee and her party leaders are too well known to be mistaken. Amidst such adversity, never has been seen the leader that the people of West Bengal expected Mamata Banerjee to be as the leader of 'Poribortan'. She has always been found wanting.

In the midst of such a gloomy affair, the latest economic data gives some hope, with state's finance minister, Amit Mitra striving hard to modernize the economics of the state. The state has registered over 7.5% GDP growth rate in the last financial year. Still, employment generation has not been enough in two years, the agricultural production is not rising at an inspiring rate, manufacturing is yet to get a push and services have grown at less than 10% rate, which is not sufficient for a state like West Bengal with large and extremely dense population base.

Now that Mamata Banerjee's rule has entered into its third year, the chief minister can not afford to remain indifferent to the extent of being abusive in her approach to dealing with the problems of 'Maa, Maati, Maanush, which projected her to glory.

(I wrote it for merinews: http://www.merinews.com/article/west-bengal-two-years-of-maa-maati-maanush/15885821.shtml)