Files do not move in Delhi as Didi prepares to knock-out Left from Bengal

Trinamool Chief Mamata Banerjee has tasted blood in Bengal. After battering the Left in West Bengal’s civic poll elections, the Railway Minister is preparing to deliver the knock-out punch in West Bengal, in the Assembly elections to be held next year. With eyes on Chief Minister’s seat, she has stationed herself in the State to consolidate the gains of the civic polls and get the momentum going till the elections.
Focus on Bengal has shifted the focus from Railways in Delhi so much so that the Ministry is acutely feeling the punch of Mamata’s aloofness from the Ministry. Inside sources within Railways reveal that the files are not moving at all. Transfers and postings are not taking place and even small day-to-day decisions are getting delayed. “If the Minister is not present, how can you expect others to take decisions? Neither can all the files be sent to Kolkata for her perusal,” said the source.
Due to her absence from the Ministry, several promises made during the budget still remain unmet. Not to mention the 375 stations that were to be made as Adarsh stations, even the New Delhi and Anand Vihar railway stations have not been developed as per expectations. With such a big infrastructure in place, Anand Vihar station has just a few trains moving from there. New Delhi railway station too has plethora of problems (see Life Watch, May 1-15, 2010).
Even though this issue was discussed within the Trinamool Congress, the outcome was that Mamata should retain the portfolio as there was no statutory requirement for her to stay in Delhi as railway minister. When quizzed, sources say that there may not be a statutory requirement but what about the moral requirement, with such huge amount of work pending in files lying on tables. The more hands-on minister is required at Railways immediately, feels people within the Ministry.The reshuffle in Manmohan Singh cabinet is due anytime now but is being postponed because Mamata’s final view whether she will retain the Ministry or will give it to someone else is not known yet. After all, given its emerging political status in West Bengal, the Congress is not likely to overrule her proposal.

BRINDA'S BINDAS QUESTIONING

Communist Party of India – Marxist (CPI-M) leader Brinda Karat is known to speak her mind. Barring a few occasions when she had to face rebuke for her outbursts, she has emerged unscathed from her verbal political onslaughts.
A few days ago, while speaking at a news conference in Patna, she accused the Trinamool Congress of providing assistance to the Maoists and said that the party has lost many of its workers to the rebel menace. “In West Bengal, with the support of Trinamool Congress, the rebels harass and killed more than 100 of our poor and backward party workers,” she said. Not to be left behind, Trinamool Congress too has lately been accusing CPI-M of having a truck with the rebels.
Not long ago, Brinda Karat was in the firing line in Rajya Sabha when she dubbed the entire Hindu community as fundamentalist. This led to a serious uproar against her, with several opposition leaders aiming their guns against her.
Members of the Bharatiya Janata Party disrupted proceedings in the Upper House as Karat read out a confessional statement allegedly given by a riot-accused, who had conceded that Hindu fundamentalists were behind the incidents of violence in Malegaon.
Amidst the pandemonium, the House was adjourned.
"She made a sweeping statement against Hindus. She is a Hindu herself and this kind of statement was not expected from her," former finance minister Yashwant Sinha commented.
The then Science and Technology and Ocean Development Minister Kapil Sibal said, "Criminals are criminals; no matter which religion they come from. And hence the whole community should not be personally identified."
These are not just two stray examples. Brinda Karat was also in news recently for demanding arrest of Google India chief. “The chief of the Google India should be arrested and prosecuted immediately”, she had said. This demand was made because the site allegedly hosted advertisements related to pre-natal sex determination in violation of law.Karat said the Government had earlier issued a warning to Google in this regard but the site has again started putting sponsored advertisements about clinics doing pre-natal tests.
She sought to know why the ministry of IT & Communication is not taking any action against Google for the violation of the provisions of Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PNDT) Act asking whether it is "connivance or callousness" on the part of the government.
Under the Act, any entity indulging in sex determination advertisements is liable for imprisonment and fine. Karat expressed concern over the plummeting sex ratio in the country and nine lakh girl children going missing.
Some time back, Brinda Karat was in the news for an altogether different reason. She took up cudgels against the Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and sought the reopening of Ruchika’s molestation case. More recently, she was heard speaking against the Muslim clerics who were against the reservation for women.
And the most recent issue that Brinda has raised is related to a Kashmiri youth Syed Maqbool Shah, who was arrested for his alleged role in Lajpat Nagar bomb blasts in 1996 and has been languishing in jail for past 14 years. The courts have found that his man was not guilty and released him. Brinda has said the Government should compensate this youth with a Government job and compensation as he had to spent 14 years of his prime time behind bars for no fault of his own.
But the real brick-lashing is reserved for Trinamool chief, Mamata Banerjee, unmindful that the fiery lady is quick to respond. Known for her angry retorts, Mamata Banerjee couldn’t contain her anger recently when Brinda lashed out against the callous approach of the Railway authorities. It so happened that a train carrying disabled from Kolkata to Delhi had no water in several coaches and reached Delhi more than 12 hours late. When Brinda complained, Mamata retaliated, further igniting the love-hate relationship that the two ladies share between each other.