After a hurried retreat over EC ordered transfers, Mamata looking for new villains
KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee though retreated from the verbally vitriolic war she waged over transfer of police officials and district level bureaucrats with Election Commission under a popular pressure, but she attacked Election Commission saying “let 16th May come and you’ll realize how difficult to change the electoral fate of TMC.’’
Interestingly, Mamata Banerjee also attacked “a group of media which did not see eye to eye with her,’’ and indentified them as conspirators. She interestingly hijacked CPI(M) leader Jyoti Basu’s none-too-impressive oft-repeated rhetoric: “it was an effort to insult the self-esteem of Bengal.’’Apparently, it was to wipe up popular sentiment as she blamed the Congress, BJP and CPI(M) and a section of media though how less impressive and less convincing her slogans may seem to voters.
Speaking to this writer, a political commentator said: “After retreat, let her have a face-saver which may not be easily found. After all she’s an Indian politician, let’s not forget it.’’
While Congress, (a little silent CPI(M)) and BJP condemned Mamata’s attack on EC and media, not even politicians, even university professors and intellectuals condemned Mamata Banerjee’s copying Jyoti Basu’s rhetoric (without mentioning it) as “it was not unexpected from Mamata Banerjee, as she turned a bigger Stalinist than CPI(M) who actually never respected freedom of media nor freedom of speech.’’But there are other worries for Mamata Banerjee, than these criticisms her loss of face if affects her electoral fortunes in Bengal!
