Nidhu Bhusan Das
Democracy degenerates when party politics overpowers governance.In West Bengal politics, dominated for a long time by the leftists,terms like fascism and fascists became clichés.The predecessor of Ms Mamata Banerjee betrayed his scarce respect for democracy when he said ‘we are 235 and they are 30’.If this presumption of Mr. Buddhadev Bhattacharyya smacked of fascist tendency,the use of the phrase ‘barking dogs’ by the incumbent Chief Minister in oblique reference to her opponents suggests intolerance which is anathema to democracy.The present state of academic institutions and student politics demonstrates intolerance which may lead to anarchy, if allowed to persist unabated in the absence of the impartial role of the police which the Chief Minister promised on the assumption of power after a landslide victory in the assembly polls,and which is conspicuous in its absence till date.The assailants of the teacher-in-charge of Raigonj University College were booked under bailable sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) while the assailants of the Principal of Majdia College were booked under non-bailable sections. The Home(Police) Department is held by the Chief Minister.Such discriminatory approach frustrates the Chief Minister’s espousal of a equity-based dispensation.
The people of the state voted out the Left Front believing Mamata would be able to live upto their expectation of an egalitarian society where equity and rule of law would prevail.The way police have dealt with the incidents in different colleges so far has belied the expectation. The controversy over ‘Indira Bhawan’ at Salt Lake,Kalkata between ruling coalition partners Trinamool Congress and Congress is unwarranted as much as the hurling of invectives between them has crossed all limits of decency and responsible behaviour. Trinamool Congress as the major partner of the coalition in the state has the primary responsibility to keep the flock together for the sake of good governance which reticent Chief Minister Mr. Nitish Kumar could have been able to provide in Bihar which was once thought to be a difficult state to govern.
The Chief Minister harps on the denial of special package by the centre for the revival of the economic health of the state. True,the package remains elusive. But what about the central schemes like NREG for which funds have been transferred ? The state government has miserably failed in different districts to guarantee to the rural poor employment for 100 days this financial year.The government may say it has not got a full year to implement the scheme but that would not justify the failure because they have passed seven months and a half which period is marked by inaction in respect of such projects. Inefficiency and lack of vision on the part of the concerned minister could be the cause of such failure.If these progammes could have been implemented in earnestness and with vision, the rural Bengal could have seen a semblance of development, if not a full scale resurgence.
.The government,no doubt, has been successful in taming the violent Jungle Mahal and Darjeeling hills,which are not a mean achievement. The peace is fragile and may, any time, be disturbed and lost if development activities can not be started within a reasonable time. However, if the government remains busy with trading blames, altercating and the interest of the ruling party is seen to be synonymous with public interest,good governance will be beyond the horizon.West Bengal will,eventually, slide into a state of hopelessness.
