Mamata’s `political isolation’ greets Bengal with post-poll profiteers’ scripting inflation
KOLKATA: As Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Tamilnadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha extend their hands of friendship to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, their West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee, is getting gradually into political isolation at the national level, by following a half-hearted political line that doesn’t bode well for the State, despite her `huge number of MPs.’
“Why one needs to think that way? For post-election period, we’ve not been discourteous to anyone now occupying seat of power in Delhi?’’ a top senior TMC leader told Newstrack.
“Whether Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee goes personally to congratulate Mr Modi or if she doesn’t that wouldn’t decide the Centre-State relation in every sense the term when it comes to channelizing Delhi’s rational official financial backing to the state. Isn’t it?’’ he added.
Incidentally, there was also unofficial reports that state finance minister Amit Mitra had a talk with his Union counterpart Arun Jaitely who `agreed to meet him shortly.’
“But that may not always set the ball rolling without Mamata Banerjee’s direct initiative to open up a dialogue immediately with PMO on the issues of acute financial problems state is facing,’’ said a political commentator.
As for example, if controlling inflation is getting priority in Modi’s agenda, after election prices of essential food commodities have began to shoot showing their ugly heads in Bengal – whether it’s vegetables, pulses rice or anything eatable and not all is under BPL list,
“Not because there is necessarily shortage of food articles but because of excessive profiteering greed by reckless retailers,’’ admits a senior state food department official.
And while Mamata Banerjee did not yet pay any attention to the issue, planning to, if cornered, shift it on Centre, “it will not fetch any gains for common man whose Rs 100 is fetching everyday Rs 10 worth less food staff in the morning,’’ said a political observer.
Why she didn’t plan out to coordinate with Centre yet to curb inflation at the state level, asked a poor man.
“Thus reigning in food inflation, triggered by local profiteers, should have called in for joint action plan by Centre and State,’’ agreed a Calcutta University Economics Professor, saying “it proved winning election and solving problems do not greet each other.’’
She needs to plan out things at the initial stage instead of focusing on building a cadre based party and come up with solution for more menacing problems which are essentially economic and financial, observers feel.
