Billowing Worries With Smoke
As skeletons from the cupboard of Bengal’s ruling party Trinamool Congress tumble out one after another with the opening up of “Chit-gate” as the chit fund scandal has inevitably come to be called, the least that chief minister Mamata Banerjee could have done was not stir up another storm with a fresh round of controversial comments. First she announced the setting up of a 500-crore relief fund of sorts for the victims of the nearly 25,000 crore scam, making people wonder why on earth when arrested Sharadha boss Sudipta Sen was directed to refund the investors, she would want to step in and do the honours. Was it corroboration of suspicions about TMC’s involvement with Sharadha at the highest levels? If that wasn’t bad enough for the party, it added insult to its own injury by announcing that the fund would be raised by the arbitrary introduction of taxes on tobacco products. And then came the absolutely damning comments, which sent the incredulous people of Bengal – read “electorate” as the Panchayat elections are just down the line – alternately into fits of anger and paroxysm of laughter for its sheer comic quotient. “Smoke a little more for sometime in order to raise the funds quickly” was the message that the Bengal chief minister sent out to the public.” After two years of the TMC regime many are commenting that Bengal has gone from the frying pan to the fire. And as we know there’s never any smoke without fire.
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The Robocops
After a spate of violence in Bengal in which protesters and police clashed causing casualties on both sides, Calcutta Police have been given gear that has turned them into, as one local newspaper observed, “robocops”. Complete with headgear, arm guard, abdomen guard, knee guard, ammunition boot, shoulder guard, chest guard, waist pouch, thigh guard and shin guard, the cops are literally covered from head to toe.
The Colossal Collapse
Calcutta’s new airport terminal which was thrown open to the public with a lot of fanfare has turned out to be a damp squib. Not only have passengers been complaining about the lack of cleanliness and hygiene at the airport but during a recent storm, parts of the building collapsed – glass panes shattered and walls formed cracks.
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Casting The Couch Aside
That the casting couch exists in Calcutta was an open secre. But not many actors have the guts to expose the unwanted advances by a producer.. So when Bengali actress Swastika Mukherjee stormed off from a movie set after the producer suddenly decided that it would be he and not the main actor who would do a bed-scene with her, it has earned her a great deal of respect in Bengal.
Gone With The Wind
As you can imagine, the chit fund scam has spawned endless jokes shared via SMS, FB, Twitter, etc. Here’s one: Since Mamata Banerjee told the people of Bengal after the Sharadha meltdown “Ja gechey ta gechey” (What’s gone is gone) a list is being circulated on all that’s gone from Bengal. The list includes:
- The right to speak
- The possibility of industrial development
- Safety for women
- Credibility of the government and many other such small things
