By Tirthankar Mitra
KOLKATA: Amidst stern warning to Trinamool Congress regime extortionists, unearthing financial scams, trying to pull down allegedly illegal constructions including a TMC party office, the first BJP state government of West Bengal is nearing. three months in office. But just as the powers that be in the saffron camp were about to pat itself on its back, a warning from an unexpected source ended all complacency.
Incidentally the warning has not been sounded from the Opposition ranks in the state. It’s voice being feeble post assembly elections, becoming a divided house, the TMC camps did not raise the issue. It is the state BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya who has sounded a warning against the persons in the saffron camp involved in extortion. That is the reason why the alert cannot be rubbished as Opposition propaganda.
Bhattacharya, a Rajya Sabha member and a speaker who is much in demand in political rallies and cultural events has his ears to the ground. Moreover, he makes no secret that his friends and acquaintances cut across the political divide making his sources of information more widespread than the average BJP leader.
In other words, Bhattacharya knows what he is speaking about. There is a ring of credibility in his accusations. Moreover, the state BJP chief is not known to promote factional politics. For Bhattacharya did not name any individual in his accusation.
The fear of “tola” or extortion was one of the reasons of several investors not starting their project during the Trinamool regime in West Bengal. One of BJP’s principal poll promises was putting an end to extortion in the state.
Indeed it was considered to be a stumbling block in the path of industries returning to West Bengal. Former chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s assurance that extortionists would be punished did not cut any ice.
The convincing victory of the BJP in 2026 Assembly elections is one of the principal reasons of entrepreneurs reposing it’s faith in the new dispensation. Two major investments post poll results in steel and garment industry are stated to be early dividends of the BJP victory.
One of the industrialists who had invested recently did not beat about the bush when he said he would have set up his factory in another state had the BJP not won the elections. “Bhoi noi bhorsha” (assurance not fear) had been the slogan of the saffron camp to drive in its difference with the then Trinamool dispensation.
Indeed extortion had been one of the major banes of the Trinamool dispensation When chief minister Subhendu Adhikari took the oath of office, he too had sounded warning against corruption.
Given Bhattacharya ‘s words of caution, the chief minister’s warning did not percolate all over the party. Obviously it has not been heeded by one and all in the state saffron camp. The state BJP chief chose “Udyami Sangam” at IIT Kharagpur’s research park at Rajarhat to think aloud. State finance minister Swapan Dasgupta attended the function along with him.
Bhattacharya’s alert against his own party activists was thus not speaking in hushed tone to an inner circle. The loud and clear message was meant for the wrong doers as well those looking the other way.
The warning has a twofold purpose. It sounded an alert against corrupt activists of the saffron camp at a time when the civic elections are round the corner. The presence of the “rotten apples” would certainly damage BJP’s poll prospects. A not too decisive victory in the coming civic elections would reduce the Assembly polls success into a flash in the pan win
It has sent a less than a subtle note to the section of the state leadership who are involved in inducting erstwhile TMC activists and leaders in the saffron camp. Not naming individuals, Bhattacharya pointed out that some of the new entrants are only “four hours old” in the party and nurse “unfulfilled aspirations”.
This makes the motive of switchover of these persons to the state BJP doubtful. Referring to the “unfulfilled aspirations” the state BJP chief pointed to their desire to switch loyalty was not at all ideological. At the moment, the first saffron dispensation in the state is not faced with any major public grievance. This boils down to no popular protest brewing against it.
But Bhattacharya’s warning is a pointer to the fact that unless the apparently unnoticed ingress in BJP is stopped, public ire may turn against it. No other act is a clearer sign of public disapproval towards some Trinamool than they being pelted with eggs.
This is a post election phenomena. And if the state of affairs in the saffron camp remain unchanged, some of its leaders and activists may very well find themselves with egg on their faces, Bhattacharya predicted.
The state BJP chief who had campaigned through the length and breadth of the state recently is only too aware that it does not take long for a turnaround in the public mood. Now going by his words even months after the election which BJP swept, extortion is not a thing of the past in West Bengal.
Bhattacharya have also had a word against complacency of a section of leadership. Bagging 207 constituencies must not go to anyone’s head, he has warned having witnessed the disastrous consequences of attaining a brute majority on Left Front and Trinamool dispensations.
One is in doubt whether Bhattacharya’s words will get the leadership’s ears or be taken with a pinch of salt. For his earlier warning of closing door of his party to aspirants from TMC fell on deaf ears. (IPA Service)
Kerala CM’s Flood Crisis Management Draws Strong Criticism 