National

‘I’m Not God. Or Phantom. I’m Open To Criticism’

'We have received a mandate from the people) and I won't betray them. No, mid-term polls are <i>not</i> on my agenda'

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‘I’m Not God. Or Phantom. I’m Open To Criticism’
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It has been a remarkable year for West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Ever since she breached the Left citadel this time last year, she has been leaving an imprint both on state and national politics. At the state level, she has taken decisions that have left her supporters in the middle classes disillusioned, but her hold over the poor and marginalised is believed to be intact as she heads into a critical panchayat election later this year. At the Centre, her stances have completely frustrated the Manmohan Singh regime, of which she is a part. Always threatening an exit, she set the cat among the pigeons again by talking of early polls.

After one year in office, where is the proverbial "paribartan" (change) Bengal was promised?

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Change is a continuous process. You cannot assess it with the static yardstick of a limited time frame. When a seed is sown into the ground, you cannot immediately see the plant. You have to be patient. With time, it grows into a large tree. And then the flowers bloom, and only then can the fruits be plucked.

You have given your government 100 out of 100 in terms of its performance in the last one year. You are satisfied, but not many share this view.

Satisfaction is a relative term. Yes, I am satisfied because we have successfully initiated the process of change in all the important spheres mentioned in our election manifesto. And that is what I meant when I gave my government 100 out of 100, and I stand by that.

Can you give any examples?

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We made some basic commitments in our election manifesto. The health and education sectors, for instance, eroded away for 34 long years, with the Left Front government infiltrating these areas. We promised that we would rescue and revamp these sectors. And we have initiated the process. For example, we have introduced a system similar to AIIMS in Delhi, where the poor can buy medicine at certain government hospitals at prices lower than the market prices. In education, we have issued certain guidelines, like merit should be the only criterion for admission. This is something that the former regime flouted. We brought back peace to Darjeeling and have announced development projects in the hills, including infrastructure-building and the establishment of more academic and medical institutions. We have successfully dealt with the problem of insurgency in Jangalmahal. Recently, even Union home minister P. Chidambaram admitted that it was a remarkable achievement.

A section of people in Jangalmahal talk of betrayal because of the continued presence of the joint forces, which you yourself were against before the elections.

The question of "betrayal" does not arise. I never supported violence. Before the formation of TMC, I was a member of the Congress Party. Gandhi's Congress. Non-violence is a philosophy that runs deep. In fact, the general masses of Jangalmahal, the Ma-Mati-Manush of these areas, never supported Maoist activity. The common people of Jangalmahal were victims of administrative neglect for 34 years. Insurgency breeds in such areas. There was always a Maoist-CPI(M) nexus. The lamentable socio-economic situation alienated the people. In the last one year, we have been focusing on development, by building infrastructure-þ roads, electrification, hospitals, schools, etc-þ and strengthening government self-employment schemes like the NREGA, which were misused by local Left leaders. They practised the politics of underdevelopment.

In the history of Independent India, this is the first time a US dignitary of the stature of a secretary of state has visited Writers' Building. What is the future roadmap?

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Yes, it's the first time since 1947. There are plans to create a partnership.

Discussions on a Bengal-US partnership in areas like IT, health, education, manufacturing and trade is very encouraging for the state. But isn't there an inherent contradiction in your opposing FDI in multi-brand retail and your encouraging economic cooperation with the US?

Unlike the Marxists, I have no mind block against the US. Why should any ideological manifesto oppose a sovereign country? It is also incorrect to say that I favour a blanket ban on FDI in multi-brand retail. I am not against it per se. In fact, it already exists in Bengal. But I must ensure that it doesn't overpower and swallow up the small farmers and small businessmen, who will be negatively impacted.

What do you have to say to critics who think you don't have a plan for industrialisation in the state? Consider the loss of industry--the pullout of Tata Nano before the elections and more recently the Emami group (amounting to a loss of Rs 2,500 crore), AMRI, Infosys (over the government's refusal to give it SEZ status) as well as Wipro. Hasn't this sent out a wrong signal to investors?

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Industry is an important priority and in order that it does not suffer. we are taking steps. It is true that after Singur, a section of people felt that industry was not welcome here. But that perception is wrong. Our point is that industry should not come at the cost of agriculture and the poor farmers (as in the unwilling farmers of Singur). We are trying to achieve a balance. We are trying to come around litigation that prevents the use of already existing factories. We are also in the process of creating a land bank to identify areas that can be utilised for industry.

But your land policy is--NO government involvement in land acquisition. Unlike most other Indian states, Bengal has not scrapped the Urban Land Ceiling Act either, which prevents a single buyer from acquiring large tracts of land. Land is also highly fragmented in Bengal. Is it not difficult for industries then to acquire large tracts of land because they have to negotiate with all the different owners?

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Yes, we are opposed to state intervention in land acquisition. That is because we feel investors should approach landowners directly and negotiate a just market price for their propertyi in order to avoid situations like Singur. The Urban Land Ceiling Act is necessary as it goes with our pro-poor policies. Abolishing it encourages a kind of neo-colonialism, which we do no want in the state.

There are allegations of party-cracy. In recent times, a number of incidents have come to light when individuals allegedly owing allegiance to TMC, have used force and intimidation (whether beating up professors or thrashing journalists), the same way CPI(M) goons were accused of doing. Is Didigiri replacing Dadagiri?

Some stray have taken place. But each individual case is investigated and dealt with in the strongest possible way. If there is an effort to brand them as TMC or government people, this is not right. The Left Front government created party hegemony. Only those people who belonged to the party or owed it allegiance would be the beneficiaries, whether of government schemes or other such. Now that has completely stopped. I hold meetings with bureaucrats and block development officers and discuss the need to root out corruption and party-cracy.

Another indicator that we are not like the Left is that after we came to power we did not dissolve the already existing panchayats, many of which are still Left. We did not fill the panchayats with TMC people.

Didi, it is said, is intolerant of criticism....

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This is not true at all. Rather, it is an orchestrated lie perpetuated by the CPI(M). I am not God. Nor am I Phantom. I am ready to accept any criticism. I have been in politics for decades. Each and every day in several media, there is criticism of me. Often, it is false and fabricated, and then I react. And I react because I am emotive. I think, without emotion, you can be a good robot but not a politician.

According to the Left, the Centre does not have the bailout money you ask for. How do you think the Centre will come up with the funds sought by your government?

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I requested the state for a three-year moratorium on repayment of the loan taken by the Left regime. I think this is a legitimate demand. The last 34 years the Left Front government have destroyed the state in many ways, including economically. They took overdrafts, borrowed money for non-plan expenditure. It has left the state with a debt of over Rs 200 lakh crore, which we have inherited. The Centre should consider this as a special case. If you have several children and one child is more malnourished than the others, doesn't the parent have a responsibility to give it extra nutrition? It is the parents' duty, and the other siblings should not complain.

On the national stage, despite being an ally, you have a strained relationship with the UPA government. You have opposed it on a number of issues, including the Teesta water-sharing, FDI in multi-brand retail, Lokayukta and now even NCTC. There is also talk of you pulling the plug and opting for early elections.

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Amra ekta mandate niyey eschechi (We have received a mandate from the people) and I won't betray them. No, mid-term polls are not on my agenda.

Who would you support for President? Hamid Ansari, because he is Muslim, or Pranab Mukherjee, because he is Bengali?

Let the Congress come up with their choice of candidate, only then will I comment. Until then, it's anybody's guess.

An edited, shorter version of this appears in print

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