TMC Govt in WB in trouble?
Bhubaneswar, Aug 20(Reporters Today Bureau): The arrest of Birbhum district president of Trinamool Congress Anubrat Mondal by the Central Bureau of Investigation has sent shockwaves in the party and for the first time the party supremo Mamata Banerjee appears jittery. Mamata, who had easily shaken off Partha Chatterjee when he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate, finds herself in a peculiar situation in the case of Mondal. Interestingly, her defense that the action of Central agencies like CBI and ED are acting at the behest of the NDA government has not been holding any water is deflated as these actions are being conducted as per the direction of the Calcutta High Court and has made her position ackward.
It is for the first time, in the case of Mondal, that Mamata has been urging her party cadre, though indirectly, to come on the streets to protest the actions of the central agencies. She is wary that these actions may lead to a situation when the people of the State, who had reposed a lot of hope on her, might gradually politically disown her. Corruption is an issue she never thought would throw her into such a pass. The public anger is growing and is being fanned by the BJP, the party’s archrival in the State at present.
Mamata Didi has been trying to project herself as a strong challenger to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the run up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. But with these developments she has found herself in a peculiar position. Further her efforts to unite the opposition parties, barring the Congress, emerged as a challenge for the 2024 contest. But she has failed miserably as is seen from the Presidential election result. Her candidate Yashwant Sinha failed miserably to group the opposition parties and win their confidence.
Mamata’s anxiety could well be gauged from the fact that she had to urge her party cadre to come on the streets to protest the CBI and ED actions. But that even failed to evoke the desired effect. The Bengal people appear aloof as they have not come out openly in support of Partha Chatterjee, Arpital Mukherjee or Anubrat Mondal who wielded extensive influence in the State only a month ago. This shows that the people of Bengal have now realized that supporting a corrupt politician would affect their credibility as voters.
The West Bengal Chief Minister now has another problem as a PIL seeks valuation of assets of as many as 19 TMC politicians, including some ministers. If any trace of corrupt practices is revealed, then the TMC government will have a really tough time to explain to the people. The problem for the TMC has arisen as nearly 10 teams from the Enforcement Directorate have begun investigation into the disproportionate assets of these 19 leaders after the Calcutta High Court made the agency a party in the PIL.
There was a buzz in the political circles in West Bengal that Mamata may even contemplate quitting the Chief Minister post and put up some other leaders to wriggle out the current mess. But her problem is whom to trust. The only choice before her is her nephew Abhishek Banerjee who also is embroiled in coal scandal controversy in the State. But will she put her bet on Abhishek, who is rumoured to have serious differences with Mamata on several issues concerning the party, its leaders and governance?
