Mamata Bannerjee,Eclipse CHASE, CPIM ICU
Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams, Chapter 294
Palash Biswas
Barriers Break At Mega Mamata Rally
TNN 22 July 2009, 05:03am IST
Ten years back, a crowd of 10,000-12,000 would trickle down to Esplanade to listen to Mamata Banerjee on Shahid Diwas. On Tuesday, 1.5 lakh
supporters stood through a downpour to cheer her. The massive turnout is an indicator to the change in equations that Bengal politics has seen in recent years, with the Opposition throwing a credible challenge to the Left Front regime for the first time.
Neither the heavy shower nor the jostling that broke iron barricades could dampen the magic spell cast by Mamata. Her triumph in the panchayat, Lok Sabha and municipal polls and increasing clout in national politics have rejuvenated her supporters. The sizzling energy could not be missed in Trinamool Congress' show of strength on Tuesday.
While political observers in Bengal are keenly looking towards the Assembly polls, some two years away, the grassroots supporters had no doubt on Tuesday that Mamata would be the next chief minister. From the villager from a remote Cooch Behar area to a Kolkatan from Tollygunge, the Trinamool chief was the beacon of hope.
The indications were there in the Shahid Diwas rally that Mamata Banerjee addressed on July 21, 2008. At that point, the winds of change had just started blowing. A year later, the winds have swept CPM off most municipalities, panchayats and Lok Sabha seats. Now, the mood now is clear all eyes on 2011.
It was a roar, more than a cheer, that greeted Mamata when she stepped on the dais on Tuesday afternoon amid a heavy downpour. There was a sudden surge towards the platform to see her from up close. Senior party leaders struggled to keep the crowd under control. The pressure built up until an iron barricade collapsed. After a bit of a melee, the crowd evened itself out.
The rain eased up, and by the time Mamata took the microphone, the skies had cleared.
"Dekhechhen, akash haaschhe (See, the sky is smiling)," she told the spellbound janata. The leader who loves talking in metaphors reminded her supporters that any battle can be won if fought bravely.
"If you can brave rains and storms, you can do anything. You did not budge despite the heavy rain and now the sky has cleared. Face the battle ahead and you will win," she said.
All day, thousands of supporters streamed to the meeting venue, sitting on top of buses and clinging to trucks. Many had reached the previous day and spent the night at bus stands, railway stations dharamshalas or even the open road to grab a space close to the dais.
The morning started bright and sunny but soon transformed into a cloudy, wet day as it started raining. The crowd still swelled. The jostling grew so severe at times that Mamata had to move to the edge of the dais and wave frantically to her supporters to keep them in place.
"We have come to listen to her. Whatever she tells us, we will follow. Our dream is to see her as chief minister," said Rajat Sardar from Hasnabad.
Mamata's mantra was simple. "We are calling for change, for creating better human beings and a better Bengal. We should remember that people are watching us," she said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4805084.cms
Mamata showcases a responsible face
TNN 22 July 2009, 04:53am IST
KOLKATA: The human sea at the Trinamool Congress gathering in Esplanade on Tuesday saw the birth of a mature politician — Mamata Banerjee,
weaving Gandhism with Marxism as a viable alternative to the Left rule in West Bengal.
Springing from the grassroots to challenge the CPM hegemony at a time when most Opposition leaders had given up, Mamata broke barriers by bringing on stage the martyr families of the Tebhaga Movement and Food Movement of 1966, which had helped the Left Front come to power in 1977.
But success has made her more sensible. Mamata asked her supporters — who listened to her speech undeterred by a downpour — to “behave politely” and not to resort to impromptu blockades without the permission of the leadership.
“People are in distress. Food prices are soaring. Let us not add to their inconvenience. No one should block roads without my permission, or that of the state leaders when I am away in Delhi,” Mamata said, eyeing a change in the next Assembly election.
Not once did she want the Centre to clamp Article 356 in Bengal. All that she wanted from Delhi was seizure of illegal weapons in possession of the CPM.
Her call for change became more credible as writer Mahasweta Devi openly announced from the dais that she wanted to see Mamata as the next chief minister. Flanked by Congress general secretary Keshav Rao and SUCI state secretary Provas Ghosh, Mamata also sent out signals that the alliance was stable and would continue till the 2011 Assembly poll.
Leader of the Congress Legislature Party, Manas Bhunia, was not on stage, but Congress president Sonia Gandhi and AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi sent Mamata SMSes during the rally, which Rao read out to the crowd: “Best wishes. Let us proceed together.” Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee also congratulated Mamata for the huge gathering.
Mamata is confident that the people would remove the Left from Bengal “not by CPM’s way of violence, but on a proper development agenda and with communal amity”. “CPM will not work for the people’s welfare,” the Trinamool chief said.
The thousands who had come all the way from the districts to catch a glimpse of Didi were confident she would make it to Writers’. Making it clear that she was now thinking beyond Trinamool’s role as an Opposition party, Mamata gave a hint of her priorities as the leader of the party in power in the state. “We want to bring about real development in Bengal,” she said. “We will promote democracy and give a non-partisan administration. We will recast the education system, improve healthcare and take electricity to every village. Both agriculture and industry will smile.” Mamata also promised more jobs if Trinamool comes to power.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mamata-showcases-a-responsible-face/articleshow/4805370.cms
A long way into history: Mamata brings victims of Nandigram and Tebhaga on one platform
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Express News Service
Posted: Jul 22, 2009 at 0352 hrs IST
Kolkata The Tuesday’s rally of Trinamool Congress in Kolkata was used by the party to pay its respect to people who lost their lives in various socio-politico movements — from the 1946 Tebhaga movement to 2007 Nandigram land agitation — that took place in Bengal.
Taking the opportunity to widen her party’s reach, Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee also paid her tributes to those people who lost their lives in movements that were launched by Marxists like the Tebhaga movement and 1959 Food movement.
It was a rare occasion to see relatives of those killed in the Tebhaga movement, which was launched by the communists for share-croppers, sharing the dias with the family members of those killed in the police firing in Nandigram.
By paying tributes to these martyrs, Banerjee attempted to hijack the core communist ideology in Bengal.
“We speak for all the martrys of Bengal. We want to pay respect to them and their families. We should not forget their contribution to Bengal, be it people killed by police firing in Nandigram or during the Tebhaga movement,” said Banerjee.
“The CPM failed to give them justice and even remember them. But we will be on their side. We share their grief. They have lost their near and dear ones,” she added as the kin of the victims looked on from a separate stage erected for them.
The rally was also attended by the families of Tapasi Malik and graphic designer Rizwanur Rehman — victims of high profile murder cases that had put the Left Front government in a dock. Kishwar Jehan, mother of Rizwanur Rehman, was among the speakers who addressed the rally.
“I pray for the souls of those mothers who lost their beloved like me. I am waiting for justice like them and I hope one day we will get it. I want no mother to face the same situation in their lives and therefore I am with Mamata Banerjee,” said Jehan.
ONCE THE LEFT’S MOVEMENT
The TEBHAGA MOVEMENT was a militant agitation launched by Kisan Sabha (peasants’ front of Communist Party of India) in 1946. At that time share-cropping peasants had to give half of their harvest to the owners of the land. The demand of the Tebhaga (sharing by thirds) movement was to reduce the share given to landlords to one third.
The FOOD MOVEMENT was launched by the CPI in 1959 when the state was suffering from acute food shortage.
MARTYRS’ DAIS
A separate stage was erected near the main dais where the relatives of the victims of the movements launched by the Marxists and the Trinamool were seated together
On the stage were
* Daughter-in-laws of Nilkantha Samantha who died during the Tebhaga movement in 1946
* Mahadeb Bhuiyan, son of Gajendranath Bhuiyan killed during Tebhaga movement
* Keshab Singha, son of Ahalla Batasi Singho, another victim of police firing during the Tebhaga movement
* Kishwar Jehan, mother of Rizwanur Rehman. Rehman was found dead near railway tracks after he was forced by senior police officers to break his marriage with hosiery baron Ashok Todi’s daughter
* Molina Malik, mother of Tapasi Malik. Tapasi was killed allegedly by CPM leaders in Singur
A local Hindi Daily published Mamata Rally with this headline:
KOLKATA ME JAN Tsunami
I may not know what the newspaper and the journalist who coined this headline, means with this Headline as we understand Tsunami as TOTAL DISASTER!
Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday dedicated her party's victory in the Lok Sabha elections to the Magsaysay winner Mahasweta
Devi!
In New Delhi,the CPI(M) politburo has denounced the End Use Monitoring (EUM) agreement and called the relationship between India and the United States "one-sided".
"The CPI(M) has always maintained that the nuclear deal is a quid pro quo for India becoming a military ally of the US. The EUM will further bind the Indian military to the Pentagon," the statement read.
The politburo had tough words on its old bug bear, the Indo-US civil nuclear deal. "Despite the disclaimer by the secretary of state, the United States is moving to deny India access to enrichment and reprocessing technology. This is what the G-8 decision amounts to. Further India has yet to reach a pact with the US for reprocessing spent fuel supplied by that country."
But alas! our Marxist friends failed to lead the RESISTANCE in this Geopolitics and could never make an issue of Imperialism, Colonisation and ethnic Cleansing! Ironically, Mamata has EMERGED as an unanimous Leader of Resistance against the Marxist Genocide Culture!
What a pity!
Kerala Marxists are in a WORSE condition never before! Just have an idea!
CBI court dismisses petition against Karat and other CPI(M) leaders
Kochi (PTI): A CBI court here on Monday dismissed a petition seeking to launch contempt proceedings against 12 CPI (M) leaders, including party general secretary Prakash Karat and three Chief Ministers, for allegedly making "prejudicial" statements in a graft case involving party's Kerala secretary Pinarayi Vijayan.
Dismissing the petition, the CBI court said prima facie the petition was not maintainable.
Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura Chief Ministers-- V S Achuthanandan, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Manik Sarkar respectively, Politbureau member S Ramachandran Pillai, Pinarayi Vijayan and state ministers-- Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, Paloli Muhammedkutty, Thomas Issac, M A Baby, P K Sreemathi and P K Gurudasan-- are among the CPI(M) leaders against whom contempt proceedings were sought to be initiated by T P Nandakumar, Editor of 'Crime Magazine'.
The petition claimed that with CBI submitting the "final report" in the SNC Lavalin case, the matter was before the court but Karat had discussed the issue in the party forums on July 11 and 12 and had stated that Vijayan was not involved in any corrupt practice.
Such statements that a person accused and facing trial in a criminal case was not involved in corruption interferes with the due course of justice, the petitioner contended.
Action against Achuthanandan could have been harsher, says Karat
STAFF WRITER 20:34 HRS IST
Thiruvananthapuram, July 19 (PTI) Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan, recently axed from Politburo for indiscipline, could have faced harsher action but was spared because of his valuable contributions and long service to the party, CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat today said.
Briefing the party's lower tiers about the reasons for the action against Achuthanandan, he said maintaining discipline and upholding the CPI-M's principles at all levels were vital for the party to carry on its tasks effectively.
Karat's observations came during his briefing of the party functionaries on the long-drawn factionalism involving groups loyal to Achuthanandan and state secretary Pinarayi Vijiayan at zonal meetings held in Vatakara and Kochi on Friday and Saturday, CPI-M sources said.
Karat, however, said a veteran leader like Achuthanandan, who had held several top positions in the party, need not be given lessons on organisational principles.
Meanwhile,Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) leaders on Monday denounced Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s statement against a separate statehood and said that such statements will slow down the dialogue process.
Meanwhile, people in Darjeeling breathed a sigh of relief on Monday and were busy stockpiling rations and other necessary commodities as the GJM relaxed the indefinite strike for 10 hours. Shops and business establishments opened for the first time in nine days. In neighbouring Sikkim too, people used the window period to stockpile necessary items.
On the other hand, three-day bandh called by the People's Committee Against Police Atrocities affected normal life in the tribal areas of West Midnapore district on its last day on Tuesday.
The bandh was total at Lalgarh, Belpahari, Binpur, Jamboni, Jhargram and parts of Goaltore and Salboni, all of which were reclaimed from Maoists by security forces in the recent anti-naxal operations.
Expressing surprise over the severity of bandh for three consecutive days despite the presence of security forces in those areas, District Magistrate N S Nigam said "It is lack of coordination."
Meanwhile, PCPA leader Chhatradhar Mahato held a meeting at Kantapahari to decide on the next course of action after the police lathi-charge students near Dharampur yesterday.
West Bengal Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen had apologised for the lathi-charge.
In Midnapore town, the CPI(M) suffered another erosion in ranks with around 90 partymen, including local leaders quitting the party.
Asked about partymen leaving and switching allegiance to the PCPA, District CPI(M) Secretariat member, Doheswar Sen attributed it to a 'conspiracy' by the Trinamool Congress and Congress.
Enthused by her party’s landslide victory in the 15th Lok Sabha elections and setting her sights on the forthcoming West Bengal Assembly elections in 2011, Railway Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee urged party supporters here on Tuesday to adopt a “positive and constructive role to oust the Communist Party of India (Marxist) from State politics in 2011.”
Mahashweta Debi, the eminent writer known as Marxist or Maoist lifelong whom Mamata called ANDOLANER MATRIBHOOMI and the massive Rally was made to honour her clapping for sixty seconds, CLIMAXED the Change sought for, with an OPEN Call to Vote for Ms Mamata Bannerjee and make her the NEXT CHIEF Minister!
"I want the CPM to go. I want to see Mamata as the chief minister. In 2011, vote her to power," said the writer who attended the rally despite failing health. She stood on stage flanked by singers Kabir Suman, also a Trinamool MP, and Nachiketa and kissed Mamata's forehead before leaving the dais.
Dramatist Bratya Basu and painter Shuvaprasanna were the other members of the state's intellectual community who addressed the rally. The Imam of Tipu Sultan mosque, SM Noorur Rahman Barkati too exhorted the crowd to bring Mamata to power in 2011.
There were mothers of other "atrocity victims" at the rally. Kishwar Jahan (mother of Rizwanur Rahman) and Firoza Begum (mother of Nandigram firing victim Sheikh Imadul) at the rally.
It is the REVOLUTION our INTELLIGENTSIA stands for!
But Mamata cried PROGRESS, RESTRAIN and INDUSTRIALISATION in her concluding speech and did not spare her Election ally CONGRESS for creating DISTURBANCE with spordiac Resistance!
Mamata Banerjee now does not produce FIRE! But she poses as a FIRE ENGINE!
Mamata has transformed herself into the HUMAN Face of UPA Agenda! And yes, she proves as the best ASSET for the MANUSMRITI Hegemony as the screaming headlines and Live Telecast explain very well!
The Marxists have DISCREDITED themselves to such an EXTENT that they may not ENCOUNTER Mamata, the PHOENIX! It is like ECLIPSE Chage!
MARXISM finally ECLIPSED and how long would be the wait for the AWAKENING and EMPOWERMENT, we may never imagine!
Resistance against Genocide Culture and Marxist Gestapo has opened the FLOODGATES of BRAHAMINICAL Fascist Capitalism in Bengal and ironically, no leadership emerges from the Progressive front who may countre the MIRACLES of Mamata!
After decimating the CPIM in the Lok Sabha elections, Trinamool Congress chief and railway minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday sought
moral support of the people of West Bengal to oust the ruling Marxists from power in the 2011 Assembly elections.
Addressing a mammoth rally in memory of the Youth Congress supporters killed by the police at a protest rally on this day 16 years ago as well as to celebrate the victory in the Lok Sabha elections, Ms. Banerjee said: “The Trinamool Congress is no more a mere opposition party in State politics. Just as in the recent Lok Sabha elections, we have to defeat the CPI(M) in the Assembly elections too… And we will remove them democratically and politically, without any violence.”
Many Trinamool supporters from all over the State congregated at the rally despite the rains !
“Let it rain. It will usher in a shower of change in West Bengal,” Ms. Banerjee told the crowd. She offered homage to the victims of violence during the agitations at Singur and Nandigram.
Sunil Mitra, IAS enters the scene dominated by no one else, but PRANAB Mukherjee, the DE Facto Prime Minister of Government of India Incs.
Bengali Brahaminical Mindset is UNIQUE! It is sharper than the CHITPAVAN, Kanyakubj, AYIR and MAITHILY brahmins!
Pranab THRUST for DISINVESTMENT gets momentum as another Elite Brahmin from Bengal haves the HELMS of DIINVESTMENT Department!
Every arrangement is complete for FEEDING the Desi Illuminati and the Killer machine with our Blood and Meat!
Another Brahmin from Bengal, the Railway Minister, MS Mamata Bannerjee supported by PARIVARTANKAMI Intelligentsia ledby Mahashweta Devi, yet another Brahmin declared War to FINISH the Marxists in a Historic Rally in Kolkata yesterday! They detailed Every Genocides and showcased the Families from the VICTIMS, but did NEVER Uttered a single word on Marichjhanpi genocide! Though they used our film on Marichjhanpi Genocide during the Election Campaign to mobilse the SC Votes. Matuas supported Mamata but Mamata did not care to invite Matua mother BINA PANI Debi. Purna Das Baul was there in the dias. But he had no opportunuty to sing in the SINGING Rally.
Matuas are fighting for the withdrawl of Draconian Citizenship Amendment Act which isused to eject out the Dalit Bengali Refugees out of India!
No, Mamta Never discussed Refugee Problem nor the Brahmin Civil Society or Intelligentsia cares for the Aboriginal Indigenous Black Untouchables Persecuted!
Whta PRANAB and SUNIL would do with the PSUs, it is well understood!
We know how Mamata DISASSOCIATED herself from CHHATRADHAR mahato just before her Government sent Central Forces into Lalgarh!
A three-member Trinamool Congress team will visit troubled Lalgarh in West Bengal July 28 to study the situation in and around the enclave, where security forces are carrying out operations to flush out Maoist ultras.
Making the announcement at a hugely attended "Martyrs' Rally" in the hub of the city, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee Tuesday said the delegation will comprise union Minister of State for Rural Development Sisir Adhikari, Minister of State for Shipping Mukul Roy and Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal assembly Partha Chattopadhyay.
Banerjee criticised the Lalgarh security operation alleging that innocent people were being harassed.
Raising questions about the genuineness of the government claims about the existence of Maoist rebels, Banerjee said: "How can Maoists call from the mobiles of CPI-M (state's ruling Left Front major Communist Party of India-Marxist) leaders? 'Daal mein kuch kala hai kya?' (Is there something fishy)."
The West Bengal government launched the security operation in consultation with the central government June 18 to free the area of the leftwing extremists, who had virtually established a free zone by torching police camps and CPI-M offices and driving out the civil administration since November last year.
However, the Trinamool has consistently maintained that the operation was a ploy by the CPI-M to re-establish its writ in the area and commit atrocities on political rivals.
Announcing a series of party programmes at the rally, Banerjee said meetings and processions will be organised in every block July 25 against rising prices.
On July 27, the Trinamool will observe 'Nanur Divas', in memory of 11 party supporters killed in 2000 at Suchpur village of Nanur in Birbhum district.
The party will hold sit-in demonstrations in all bocks of the state July 31.
The party will hold workers' conventions towards the end of next month and organise booth level workers' conclave Oct 31.
The Trinamool Congress observes July 21 as "Martyrs' Day" every year in memory of 13 Congress supporters who were killed in police firing this day in 1993. Banerjee was then in the Congress.
Railway minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Monday criticised her election partner Congress without naming it for
holding a Bangla bandh on July 17 and said her party did not favour holding such wildcat bandhs and strikes that invariably land people in distress.
A day before observing Trinamool Martyrs Day, Mamata told reporters: "Some 40 of our party activists were killed by CPIM ever since Lok Sabha elections were announced. But we did not go for any bandh or strike as we know calling bandhs adds to woes to common people."
The West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) had declared a 12-hour Bangla Bandh on July 17 in protest against the attack on its MLAs at Mangalkot, 170 km from Kolkata last week. While Mamata had lent moral support to the Congress-sponsored bandh, her supporters had refrained from hitting the city streets for make the bandh a success.
Despite Mamata’s refusal to give active support to the bandh, the Congress had received huge support from the common people in making their bandh an unprecedented success. It is learnt that Mamata isn’t too pleased about this, according to party circles close to her.
Even when Mamata told reporters on Monday that All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary K.Keshav Rao would be attending her rally on Tuesday apart from other senior state Congress leaders, she did not hesitate to voice her displeasure over the Congress-sponsored bandh, especially since it was a huge success.
Mamata’s anxiety over the success of the Congress bandh has deepened since the party announced a slew of political activities independently without involving the Trinamool Congress. The Congress has already announced a month-long agitation programme, including the March to Lalbazar -- the city police headquarters and March to Writers’ Buildings -- the state administrative headquarters. And in doing this, the Congress did not consult Mamata Banerjee, just like the party did not give any official intimation to Trinamool Congress before calling the Bangla Bandh.
Though Mamata has criticised the Congress indirectly for calling the Bangla Bandh which had caused trouble to the people, she is also very much aware of the fact that holding a massive rally to observe Martyrs Day on Tuesday in the heart of the city would cause serious inconvenience to the people. "I want to apologise to the people in advance for Tuesday’s rally. But we don’t encourage wildcat bandhs and strikes. Tuesday’s rally will give direction to our future political activities," Mamata said knowing well that people in Kolkata will suffer a lot due to her rally in the heart of Kolkata.
The August 18 assembly by-elections to two seats of Sealdah and Bowbazar is another issue which the two opposition parties would have to address jointly. Trinamool Congress sources said that Mamata was interested to field her candidate for the Bowbazar assembly seat which falls under the Kolkata North lok sabha seat won by her party recently.
"The Congress contests Sealdah assembly seat traditionally and we should not have any objection in allowing the party to fight the seat this time too. But we want to fight the Bowbazar seat", Mamata reportedly told her party leaders.
The Congress, it is learnt, might take up the issue with Mamata Banerjee. AICC general secretary in charge of West Bengal, K.Keshav Rao is likely to discuss the issue with Mamata Banerjee after Tuesday’s rally.
Addressing the mammoth gathering here to observe Martyrs Day, Mamata also promised to allow the state administration to function neutrally, provide a better health service to the people and revamp the entire education system if she was voted to power in the state.
"The CPIM can’t work for the people. Neither does the party allows anyone else to function. Once the CPIM is removed, lakhs and lakhs of unemployed youth in our state will get jobs. Both industry and agriculture in our state will flourish together and to do this, we seek your moral support to oust the Marxists from power in West Bengal," Mamata told a gathering of some 30 lakh people, most of whom couldn’t even reach the venue in central Kolkata.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary K.Keshav Rao, who looks after the party’s functioning in West Bengal, also attended the rally along with the Congress MLA, Asit Mal. Rao announced in the midst of the meeting that AICC chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi had both SMSed on his mobile wishing Mamata success in her venture.
"Sonia Ji and Rahul Ji and Pranab Mukherjee have sent SMSes wishing Mamata’s gathering a huge success," Rao told the gathering to loud cheers from the huge crowd.
Underscoring her party’s unprecedented success in the Lok Sabha elections in the state, Mamata told the gathering: "Once there had been confusion among many whether it would be possible to defeat the CPIM in West Bengal. But now it has been proved that defeating the CPIM is no longer a tough job. We have already defeated the ruling Marxists in the Lok Sabha elections. And of course, we have to shed blood for this and we will have to defeat them in 2011 assembly elections. We seek your moral support."
Addressing her followers, the railway minister also said that " only sending bio-datas of 5 lakh unemployed youths in Bengal to me seeking jobs for them in the railways will not solve the problem of unemployment. Railways have to maintain certain rules and regulations to provide employment. Only one department of the Union government is not enough for solving the problem of unemployment and I need to capture the West Bengal government to provide jobs to everyone."
Indian express presents the HUMANSAPE more professionally! Just see:
At Esplanade, Mamata sees road to Writers’
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Express News Service
Posted: Jul 22, 2009 at 0348 hrs IST
Kolkata Flush after her stunning performance in the recent Lok Sabha polls, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee today sounded the bugle for the 2011 Assembly polls at the Esplanade in the heart of the city with a mammoth rally where lakhs of party workers and supporters poured in from across the state.
The victory rally, timed to coincide with the Martyr’s Day in commemoration of 11 Youth Congress workers killed in police firing in 1993, saw a record turnout that clogged the city streets, bringing traffic in arterial roads to a standstill for nearly five hours.
In the company of Magsaysay awardee Mahasweta Devi, Mamata vowed to deal a final blow the Marxists in 2011 even as the frenzied crowd and other speakers hailed the railway minister as the next “Bengal Chief Minister”, who in turn said “Yes, we can”.
Responding in kind, a beaming Mamata unfolded her roadmap for the post-2011 Bengal, saying the industry and the agriculture will grow side by side. “Both will flourish under the Trinamool rule. They will be like two sisters — hashi (smile) aar khushi (happiness).”
“People are asking what we will do if we come to power in 2011. I tell them that industry will grow. Agriculture will grow. Agriculture-based industry would grow. Democracy will grow and enterprise will flourish in an air of total freedom. We will create millions of jobs for Bengal’s youths. The CPM has done nothing in the past 32 years and they will not do anything in future. All these years, they built the myth that they are invincible. But they have lost the battle,” the Trinamool chief said amid riotous applause.
Keenly aware that her alliance with the Congress had contributed to the Trinamool’s victory in the Lok Sabha polls in no small measure, Mamata was at pains to reiterate her pact with her parent party and other partners like SUCI. In fact, K Keshav Rao, the AICC in-charge of Bengal, interrupted Mamata’s speech for a moment to announce that Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul Gandhi and senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee have sent their goodwill messages to her.
“It is proved today that the CPM has lost. Under the CPM regime, people lived miserably. Things will change after 2011. No one will have to die in Singur or Nandigram for our development plans,” Mamata said, adding on a sober note that the change will not about through “blood for blood policy”, but through peaceful means.
“The CPM uses terror against its opponents. But we will maintain peace and mobilise the people. After the Lok Sabha polls, the expectations of the people have gone up. We have to play a constructive and positive role,” the Trinamool chief said to the crowd who braved rains to hang on to every word. “Once the CPM is removed, millions of unemployed youths will get jobs. We will prove, yes, we can,” she said, adding that she needed “support from the Congress, SUCI and intellectuals and others”.
Others who spoke on the occasion — among them were Somen Mitra, the former Congressman who is now a Trinamool MP, Sudip Bandopadhyay, the Trinamool’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha, Mahasweta Devi, painter Suvaprasanna and Maulana Barkati of Tipu Sultan mosque — hailed Mamata as the next chief minister of Bengal. “She (Mamata) is Bengal’s face. Let us all vote for her and make her the chief minister of the state,” said Mahasweta Devi, who was felicitated by the Trinamool chief along with the families of the “martyrs” of Singur and Nandigram and the mother of computer graphics teacher Rizwanur Rehman.
rally holds up CM for 15 minutes, shows him the other way
The Trinamool Congress rally at Esplanade today held up Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee for 15 minutes before he could leave his office for lunch in the afternoon.
The chief minister who usually leaves office at 1:30 pm left finally at 1:45 pm as the traffic police said they could not make way for his convoy since the city roads were choc-a-bloc with people who had come to attend the rally. In fact, the CM’s convoy had to make a detour because of the crowds.
The Writers’ Buildings wore a deserted look as most of the people chose not to come apprehending huge traffic snarls. Of the 32 ministers who sit at Writers’, only 12 turned up. A large number of employees remained absent too.
Even as Mamata Banerjee spoke at her mammoth rally at the Esplanade, people at the Writers’ remained glued to television sets listening to her. In fact, several IAS officers were seen watching TV during her speech. “It’s a sign of the regime change that is taking place in West Bengal,” said an employee.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/at-esplanade-mamata-sees-road-to-writers/492493/
While statesman Kolkat reports:
Ready for Writers
KOLKATA, 21 JULY: In the largest ever mobilisation of Opposition supporters in recent times in the heart of the city Trinamul Congress chief and railway minister Miss Mamata Banerjee today made it clear that she is ready to begin her first innings at Writers' Buildings.
Job seekers may "flood" her Kalighat residence with forced applications now (for recruitment in the railways and other Central government offices), but "that won't help much". Lakhs of jobs can be created only when the Trinamul comes to power in the state, she said to the tumultuous applause of over 6,00,000 supporters who thronged the Esplanade area turning the whole stretch from the Indian Airlines building on Central Avenue to the Park Street-Jawaharlal Nehru Road crossing and beyond up to Middleton Row into a sea of humanity.
Aware that the politics of vendetta, violence and bloodshed may dash her dream of dislodging the Marxist regime even when the goal seems within reach, she warned her activists that the final lap of the journey to Writers' Buildings won't be through an-eye-for-an-eye tactic or bandh and roadblocks, but "through development, democratic contest, industrialisation, agricultural growth and education."
"We won't imbibe the evil teachings of the Marxists who practised not democracy, but vulgarly partisan one-party rule and used muscle power to stifle dissent. We won't divide the people through the categorisation of us and them as the CPI-M has done all these years. We would unite the people and establish togetherness," she said.
In a stern message to party functionaries indulging in corrupt practices soon after the Trinamul captured panchayat and civic bodies, she said these elements would be summarily rooted out. "The people have showered their blessings on us. If you tarnish the party's image by getting involved in corruption, the people would withdraw their support from us," she said.
In the same breath she left no one in doubt as to who the real boss is among the Opposition parties, despite the camaraderie she showed with the Congress leadership.
The AICC general secretary in charge of West Bengal, Mr Keshava Rao, shared the dais with Miss Banerjee and cut into the proceedings to read out a "message" from Mrs Sonia Gandhi, Mr Rahul Gandhi and Mr Pranab Mukherjee expressing their "best wishes" to her.
Mr Rao said the Congress-Trinamul alliance would grow from strength to strength and the combine would oust the Marxists from power.
But Miss Banerjee hammered it into all the ears listening to her with rapt attention that the Trinamul would be in the vanguard of this battle to capture the state government.
She said the recent Lok Sabha and municipal elections had exploded the "myth" that the CPI-M could never be defeated. "Since the Lok Sabha polls were over the CPI-M had unleashed violence and at least 40 of our activists were brutally killed. The police did not take any action. But we will not follow the path of violence. Rather we will dislodge the CPI-M through political and democratic movement and development,'' the Trinamul chief said.
Referring to Lalgarh, Miss Banerjee said she would send Trinamul leaders, including some Union ministers, for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation. She said she had repeatedly asked the Centre to deploy paramilitary forces to seize firearms and ammunition "the CPI-M has stockpiled." Congress MPs from Malda and MLA Mr Asit Mal attended the meeting.
Writer Mahashweta Devi, stage personalities, singers, film actors-turned-Trinamul MPs, and the mothers of Rizwanur Rehman, Tapasi Malik of Singur and Firoza Bibi, Trinamul MLA and mother of Nandigram police firing victim, Imdadul, stole the limelight.
Mahashweta Devi urged the people to strengthen the hands of Miss Banerjee and oust the CPI-M from power to end "corruption and politicisation of every sphere of life that it came to stand for." Union minister Mr Sougata Roy said the Trinamul had won the "semi-final" and was preparing for the "final'' (state Assembly elections.)
CM takes a detour
Chief minister Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee got delayed for at least 15 minutes on his way to lunch owing to the rally. He could not hit his usual route to avoid the clogged roads on his way from his residence and back. Mr Bhattacharjee usually leaves Writers' Buildings at 1:30 p.m. for lunch. But today he could leave at 1:45 p.m. as police could clear with difficulty the route he would take. Instead of the AJC Bose flyover the CM's convoy took Park Street via Red Road to reach his residence at Palm Avenue. On his way back to Writers' the convoy was routed through Shakespeare Sarani and Mayo Road. He reached office five minutes later than his usual time at 4 pm. Interestingly, only eight ministers attended office today.
Meanwhile, Aftab Hossain (40) died when he fell off a train near Shyamnagar when he was returning home after attending the rally.
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=1&theme=&usrsess=1&id=261725
Umbrella pact gives way to standard text
- Indo-US arrangement omits ‘on-site’ thorn
SUJAN DUTTA
Clinton, Krishna
New Delhi, July 21: India has agreed to US inspections of military equipment bought from America at dates and venues that will be decided through “joint consultation for joint security verification”, a highly placed official told The Telegraph today.
Both countries have also shelved a proposal for an overarching agreement, opting for a “standard text” that will be attached to individual bilateral defence deals.
Asked if US weapons inspectors would have access to Indian military installations, the official replied: “Not necessarily.”
The reply leaves room for US manoeuvre on installed weapons systems, although India seems to have managed to keep “physical on-site” inspections — a touchy subject — out of the draft of the “standard text”. This suggests that wherever weapons can be shifted, the inspections can take place away from military installations or even in third countries.
The official was explaining the “standard text” on end-use monitoring that was agreed on by India and the US. The two countries had announced yesterday, after talks between Indian foreign minister S.M. Krishna and US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, that “arrangements” had been reached on end-use monitoring.
India has negotiated separate end-user pacts with the US for defence deals it has done over the past eight years. With a “standard text” now agreed on, there will be no separate overarching pact. Neither is there need for separate discussions on end-user monitoring for each US military equipment that India now imports, the official said.
The “standard text” will now onwards be an appendix to all letters of agreement India and the US sign for defence transactions.
Major US defence companies have immediately welcomed the announcement in anticipation of billions of dollars of sales to India. The agreement came on a day Indian Army chief General Deepak Kapoor reached the US on an official tour.
But Parliament was in uproar today with the BJP and the Left walking out of the Lok Sabha despite Krishna’s statement in the House that there was no question of bartering the country’s freedom.
Asked about apprehensions that US weapons inspectors can walk into Indian military installations on the pretext that they want to check the use of American hardware, the senior official said that the words “physical on-site” do not figure in the “standard text”.
The biggest hitch in the run-up to the “standard text” on end-use verification, which was being negotiated for two years, was whether the inspectors would be allowed access to the equipment inside Indian military installations at will -- in other words “physical onsite” verification.
“The Government of India agrees to make available through mutual consultation to authorised US personnel” access to American equipment used by the Indian armed forces, the official said, reading from the text. The dates and venues are to be decided through “joint consultation for joint security verification”, the official said, reading from the “standard text” that has not been made public so far.
Asked if Washington had made an exception for Delhi, the official said: “Frankly, I do not know about that but certainly they have accepted our concerns.”
In a separate announcement by another top official, foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon told MPs during a lecture today: “We can show the text of the agreement to a standing committee (of MPs). We haven’t signed any agreement. We have finalised the arrangement. Now we will be signing a letter of acceptance. The US has the same end-user verification agreement with 82 countries. We also insist on end-use certificate when we sell defence equipment.”
US defence companies expect the announcement on end-use verification to boost sales.
“This landmark pact speaks to the strengthening bilateral relationship between India and the US on many fronts and is a cornerstone of the increasing trust forged by both countries,” Boeing said.
“The agreement will make it easier to share important US defence technology with India and Boeing looks forward to working within the framework of this agreement to support India in modernising its defence forces,” the company said.
Boeing and Lockheed Martin are among six bidders for an Indian Air Force order of 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft that could top $12 billion. A Russian, a French, a Swedish and a European consortium are also in the race. The announcement on end-use monitoring makes it easier for Boeing and Lockheed Martin to offer critical technologies and strengthen their bids.
“We applaud the signing of the End Use Monitoring Agreement. This signals an era of increased defence cooperation between the United States and India and we look forward to supporting the requirements of the Indian armed services in partnership with Indian industry,” said Richard Kirkland, South Asia chief for Lockheed Martin Global.
“Such an agreement will enable defence and security trade between the US and India as never before, and will facilitate the participation of US companies in supporting India in transforming its military and homeland security apparatus," said a statement from the US-India Business Council (USIBC) that represents American companies doing business in India.
“Agreement on EUM, besides opening the door to increased defence trade and security co-operation, indicates a high level of trust and co-operation between the US and India,” said Ron Somers, the USIBC president. The USIBC has urged the Indian government to allow foreign direct investment up to 49 per cent in the Indian defence sector.
Foreign investment in the sector is currently capped at 26 per cent.
General Kapoor’s week-long programme includes discussions with top officials including defence secretary Robert Gates, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff Admiral Mike Mullen, US army chief General George W. Casey and the head of US Central Command.
He is also scheduled to meet US Central Command chief, Gen. David Petraeus for discussions on Pakistan-Afghanistan at CENTCOM headquarters in Tampa, Florida.
General Kapoor is also invited to Fort Bragg in North Carolina, home of the US Army Special Operations Command.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090722/jsp/frontpage/story_11267654.jsp
Mamata’s 16-year metamorphosis
- Street fighter to policy framer
ANINDYA SENGUPTA
(Top) Calcutta after the police firing that killed 13. (Below) Policemen march into Nandigram on the day 14 villagers were killed
Calcutta, July 21: For Mamata Banerjee, today’s rally was a long way from the first one she held over the police firing that led to 13 deaths in 1993.
Today’s rally also mourned the death of 14 people in Nandigram in 2007 and almost served as a curtain-raiser to her bid for Writers’ Buildings.
In 1993, it was a siege of Writers’ that had turned tra- gic. The protests and rallies she organised every year after that to mark the incident gave her an edge in Opposition politics but did not make her a credible candidate for power in Bengal.
Her profile as a street fighter grew over the years since 1993, but today’s rally saw Mamata trying to discard a part of her old image and acquire a new one — of being a responsible politician unveiling her vision of governance.
“There’s no doubt that Mamata has matured over the years and showed a great sense of composure in handling several issues. People who at one point of time had not been kind to the ways of her agitation not only tolerate but support them now. That shows how she has evolved and changed with each passing day. She is destined to govern Bengal one day,’’ said leader of Opposition Partha Chatterjee.
In 1993, Mamata had wan-ted to storm Writers’ Build- ings. Today, she spoke of removing the CPM through “peaceful, democratic” means.
In 1993, all she wanted was aggression. Today, she asked her activists to be “humble and modest’’.
The 1993 tragedy was the result of a violent road march led by the Youth Congress state president. Today, the Trinamul Congress chief sang a different tune: “Don’t put up blockades at the drop of a hat.”
Many in Trinamul wonder what it is that made this change happen.
According to a senior MP, in 1993 and a few following years it was agitprop politics that ruled her head and that had little to do with government policies.
“That was the principal reason for Mamata being seen as a temperamental leader only believing in the politics of agitation and demonstrations. Now, she has an emotive issue and with it a larger frame of politics that is related to government policies — agriculture, land and industrialisation of Bengal.”
For some years after 1993, she could create disruptions through street violence but it was Singur and Nandigram and the contentious land issue that swayed the people and cast a spell on them, said Congress legislature party leader Manas Bhuniya.
“The very complexion of Mamata’s politics changed with Nandigram and Singur. She latched on to the two, agitated across the state and succeeded in convincing the people that the CPM government was out to grab the land of the poor. That made the difference to her political career. The 1993 movement helped her to some extent grab Opposition space at the cost of the Congress. But her land agitation has prompted people to see Mamata in a different light and think about her as an alternative to the CPM,” Bhuniya added.
So in 1993, it was a Mamata road march that involved political workers. In 2009, she has peasants with her.
Not only the peasantry but a section of the intelligentsia and the extreme-Left also found an appeal in the Trinamul chief’s land movement, a CPM MP said. “Her march to Writers’ in 1993 was correctly described by Jyoti Basu as the march of vandals. But her movement on land and the 26-day fast she underwent on Singur impressed many intellectuals, extreme-Left and Left liberals. She was identified as one fighting for a cause. Earlier, the intelligentsia wouldn’t have discussed Mamata. Today, many of them were seen on a political stage,” the former MP said.
Mamata’s alliances with other parties didn’t work as an emotive political issue, but land and the people’s fear of displacement did.
She broke away from the Congress, formed Trinamul and allied with the BJP for the 1998 Lok Sabha elections. Three years later, her alliance with the Congress in the 2001 Assembly polls came a cropper. In the 2004 parliamentary elections, she again allied with the BJP but Trinamul’s performance was abysmal.
“It was only in the 2009 polls that Didi’s alliance with the Congress yielded rich dividends. And that’s because of the land-industry debate that she successfully handled,” said a close Mamata aide.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090722/jsp/bengal/story_11267477.jsp
