Singur Lies! Mamta minister admits Singur Land can't be given back to farmers!

সিঙ্গুরের অধিগৃহীত জমি কৃষকদের ফেরানো সম্ভব নয়, স্বীকারোক্তি শ্রমমন্ত্রী মলয় ঘটকের

মনোজ বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়, এবিপি আনন্দ

Thursday, 30 October 2014 

সিঙ্গুরেও জমি অধিগ্রহণ হয়েছিল। সেই জমি এখনও ফেরৎ দেওয়া যায়নি। একবার জমি অধিগ্রহণ হয়ে গেলে তা আর ফেরৎ দেওয়া যায় না। অণ্ডালে প্রস্তাবিত বিমাননগরীর জমি জট প্রসঙ্গে স্বীকারক্তি শ্রমমন্ত্রী মলয় ঘটকের।

ক্ষমতায় এলে ফিরিয়ে দেওয়া হবে সিঙ্গুরের অনিচ্ছুক চাষিদের অধিগৃহীত জমি। প্রতিশ্রুতি দিয়েছিলেন মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়। ক্ষমতায় এসে ৪০০ একর জমি ফেরত দিতে বিলও এনেছে রাজ্য সরকার৷ বিধানসভায় পাস হয়েছে সেই বিল। কিন্তু, আইনের সাংবিধানিক বৈধতাকে চ্যালেঞ্জ জানিয়ে আদালতের যায় টাটা মোটরস৷  সিঙ্গুর জমি পুনর্বাসন ও উন্নয়ন আইন-২০১১-কে অবৈধ এবং অসাংবিধানিক বলে রায় দেয় হাইকোর্টের ডিভিশন বেঞ্চ৷ সেই রায়কে চ্যালেঞ্জ করে সুপ্রিম কোর্টে গিয়েছে রাজ্য সরকার।

কিন্তু পূরণ করতে পারেননি জমি ফেরানোর প্রতিশ্রুতি।

জমি একবার অধিগৃহীত হলে যে ফেরানো সম্ভব নয়, তা কার্যত মানছেন তাঁর মন্ত্রিসভার সদস্য মলয় ঘটকও।

রাজনৈতিক পর্যবেক্ষকদের একাংশের মতে, যত সহজে মুখ্যমন্ত্রী জমি ফেরানোর কথা বলেছেন, তা অত সহজ নয়। সব জেনেও চুপ তৃণমূল, কটাক্ষ আইনজীবীদের।

এদিন, অণ্ডালে প্রস্তাবিত বিমাননগরীর জন্য অধিগৃহীত জমি জট কাটাতে আসানসোল-দুর্গাপুর উন্নয়ন নিগম ভবনে প্রশাসনিক বৈঠকে উপস্থিত ছিলেন মলয় ঘটক। সেখানে প্রস্তাবিত বিমাননগরীর জন্য অধিগৃহীত ১০৯ একর জমি নিয়ে যে জট তৈরি হয়েছে সেই প্রসঙ্গে সিঙ্গুরের উদাহরণ টেনে আনেন তিনি। বলেন, একবার জমি অধিগ্রহণ হয়ে গেলে তা আর ফেরত দেওয়া যায় না।

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অধিগৃহীত জমি ফেরত নিয়ে চাপে পড়ে কথা গিললেন মলয়

সঞ্চয়ন মিত্র ও পার্থপ্রতিম ঘোষ, এবিপি আনন্দ

Thursday, 30 October 2014

অধিগৃহীত জমি ফেরতের আইনি উপায় না থাকার কথা স্বীকার করেও, চাপের মুখে কথা ঘোরানোর চেষ্টা করলেন শ্রমমন্ত্রী মলয় ঘটক। মন্ত্রীর মন্তব্যে অস্বস্তিতে পড়ে তৃণমূল মহাসচিব দায় চাপানোর চেষ্টা করলেন সংবাদমাধ্যমের ঘাড়ে।

সিঙ্গুরের অধিগৃহীত জমি ফেরত দেওয়ার প্রতিশ্রুতি দিয়েছেন মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়। কিন্তু, তাঁর সেই আশ্বাসকে বড়সড় প্রশ্নের মুখে ফেলে দিলেন তাঁরই মন্ত্রিসভার সদস্য মলয় ঘটক। বুধবার অন্ডাল বিমাননগরী নিয়ে বলতে গিয়ে মলয় ঘটক স্বীকার করে নেন, অধিগৃহীত জমি ফেরত দেওয়ার কোনও আইনি উপায় নেই।

ঘটনাচক্রে, সিঙ্গুরের অধিগৃহীত জমি ফিরিয়ে দেওয়ার জন্য রাজ্য সরকার যখন আইন প্রণয়ন করে, তখন এই মলয় ঘটকই ছিলেন রাজ্যের আইনমন্ত্রী। তাই তাঁর এই মন্তব্য ঘিরে বিতর্কের ঝড় উঠেছে। দ্বিচারিতার অভিযোগ তুলতে শুরু করেছে বিরোধীরা। চাপে পড়ে বৃহস্পতিবার কথা ঘোরানোর চেষ্টা করলেন মলয় ঘটক। সাফাই দিয়ে তিনি বলেছেন, অন্ডাল ও সিঙ্গুরের বিষয়টি আলাদা।

মন্ত্রীর মন্তব্যে অস্বস্তিতে পড়ে তৃণমূল মহাসচিব দায় চাপানোর চেষ্টা করলেন সংবাদমাধ্যমের ঘাড়ে। বললেন, মলয় ওই কথা বলেননি। সংবাদমাধ্যম বিকৃত করেছে।

বিরোধীদের বক্তব্য, জমি অধিগ্রহণ তো সিঙ্গুরেও হয়েছিল। অন্ডালেও হয়েছে। জট দু’ক্ষেত্রেই রয়েছে। তাহলে, সমস্যা এক হওয়া সত্বেও, দুই অবস্থানের কথা কেন বলছে শাসক দল? কেন সিঙ্গুর এবং অন্ডালের ক্ষেত্রে তৃণমূলের এই বিপরীত নীতি? তবে কি বিরোধী থেকে শাসক হওয়ায় আন্দোলনের প্রয়োজন ফুরিয়ে গিয়েছে? প্রশ্ন বিরোধীদের।

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Another name of CORRUPTION is Mamta - Lake Mall lease contract violated to give aide, financial benefit 

বাংলাকে ঋণগ্রস্থ করছে মমতা - ক্যাগ (CAG) রিপোর্ট

,    ,   

  ,   

 , :             ()      ,                                         
                              (  ),  ,                                                                        ’             ,                   
     ,          -               (-)       -   (  )               ( -)        -                                                              ,                       
       ,        -                              (   )           ,                  .   .             .  .

পড়ুন - ঋণ নিয়ে মমতার মিথ্যাচার, দেদার ঋণ করে বাংলাকে ডোবাচ্ছে মমতা

Mamta lies about debt burden of earlier left Govt.

,    ,   

     
     
   -   
   • 

   ’     -                     ,         ‘’  --            ,                    (  )-           ,            

    ?    ,  -                                 ,                             ‘’        
       ’     (-/-/-/)          ,          --           ’      ’ ,                           -      ’        ,        ,                                
     ,                                       ,       -                              
      ?    ,                      ,          ,       ,    ,     ’                    ,        ,             ,                     

Read More:  Mamta's illegal acts - Must read editorials from a reputed newspaper

How Mamta spends on huge Gifts, when she claimed she doesn't take salary or MP pension?

বেতন-পেনশনে না, তবু খামতি নেই উপহারের মমতায়

নিজস্ব সংবাদদাতা (সৌজন্য - আনন্দবাজার পত্রিকা)

কলকাতা, ৩০ সেপ্টেম্বর, ২০১৪ 

বিনা মাইনেতে উপহার কেনার পয়সা আসে কোথা থেকে? 

নন্দীগ্রামে পুলিশের গুলিচালনার পরের দিনের দুপুর। রাজ্যপাল গোপালকৃষ্ণ গাঁধী তমলুকে জেলা হাসপাতালে আসছেন, খবর হয়েছে। তড়িঘড়ি বেরিয়ে পড়ার আগে ব্যাগ খুলে তমলুকের বেসরকারি হোটেল মালিকের হাতে এক তাড়া নোট ধরিয়ে দিলেন তিনি। মুখে বরাভয়ের ভঙ্গিতে একটা বাক্য “এটা রাখো!”

হোটেল মালিক তখন প্রায় পায়ে পড়েছেন! এতগুলো প্রাণহানির মর্মান্তিক ঘটনার পরে তিনি টাকা নিতে নারাজ। সাংসদ বললেন, আগের দিন থেকে তিনি ও তাঁর দলের সহকর্মী এবং সংবাদমাধ্যমের লোকজন যে ওই হোটেলে ঠাঁই নিয়েছিলেন, তারই কৃতজ্ঞতাস্বরূপ কিছু টাকা রাখতেই হবে। তর্কের অবকাশ না রেখে কালো স্করপিও চেপে রওনা দিলেন তিনি।

সে দিনের সাংসদ জানতেও চাননি, হোটেলের বিল কত হয়েছিল! হাতে ধরে কিছু টাকা তুলে দিয়েছিলেন মাত্র। আজ মুখ্যমন্ত্রী হয়েও মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায় জানার চেষ্টা করেন না, খরচ কত হতে পারে! শুধু পুজোর সময় এলে তাঁর দেওয়া উপহারের প্যাকেট পৌঁছে যায় তাঁর প্রশাসনের কর্তা থেকে শুরু করে বহু বিদ্বজ্জন-সহ তাঁর ঘনিষ্ঠ জনেদের কাছে। এ বারও যেমন পৌঁছেছে নামী ব্র্যান্ডের কুর্তা-পাজামা, শাড়ি-সালোয়ার বা কোথাও স্যুট লেন্থ।

কালো স্করপিও-র আরোহী সেই সাংসদের টাকা মেটানো নিয়ে কেউ প্রশ্ন তোলেনি। কারণ, তিনি তখন সাংসদ এবং সেই হিসেবেই বেতন পান।

"সারদা চিটফান্ড থেকে সবথেকে বেশী সুবিধা পেয়েছেন যিনি,
তার নাম মমতা ব্যানার্জ্জী"

সাদা স্করপিও-য় চেপে পুজোর পর পুজো উদ্বোধন করে চলেছেন যে মুখ্যমন্ত্রী, তাঁর উপহার নিয়ে কিন্তু প্রশ্ন তোলার অবকাশ থাকছে! কারণ, তাঁর নিজেরই ঘোষণামাফিক মুখ্যমন্ত্রী হয়ে গত সাড়ে তিন বছরে তিনি না নিয়েছেন বেতন, না তুলেছেন সাংসদ হিসাবে তাঁর পেনশন!

সাংবাদিকদের উপহার বিলিয়ে কেন্দ্রীয় এক মন্ত্রীকে যখন প্রধানমন্ত্রী নরেন্দ্র মোদীর তিরস্কারের মুখে পড়তে হয়, এ রাজ্যে তখন আরও জাঁকিয়ে বসে ‘উপহার সংস্কৃতি’! প্রশ্নটা হঠাৎই প্রাসঙ্গিক হয়ে উঠেছে অবশ্য দক্ষিণী আম্মার সৌজন্যে! সারদা-কাণ্ড নিয়ে যখন এ রাজ্য তোলপাড়, তখন জয়ললিতার জেল-যাত্রা নিয়ে উত্তাল তামিলনাড়ু এবং গোটা দেশও। আয়ের সঙ্গে সঙ্গতিহীন সম্পত্তি রাখার মামলায় তামিলনাড়ুর মুখ্যমন্ত্রীর চার বছরের কারাদণ্ড এবং ১০০ কোটি টাকা জরিমানা হয়েছে! মুখ্যমন্ত্রী হওয়ার সময়ে যে জয়ার সম্পত্তির পরিমাণ ছিল ২ কোটি ১ লক্ষ টাকা, মেয়াদ শেষে ১৯৯৬ সালে সেটাই বেড়ে দাঁড়ায় ৬৭ কোটিতে। অথচ মুখ্যমন্ত্রী হিসাবে তিনি সরকারি কোষাগার থেকে মাসে ১ টাকা প্রতীকী বেতন নিতেন! তার মানে হিসাব করলে পাঁচ বছরে যাঁর আয় হয়েছে সাকুল্যে ৬০ টাকা, ওই সময়ে তাঁর সম্পত্তি হয়েছে ৬৬ কোটি টাকার!

দক্ষিণের আম্মা তবু মাসে ১ টাকা বেতন নিতেন। বঙ্গের দিদি সরকারি কোষাগার থেকে এক পয়সাও নেন না! তা হলে এমন অবৈতনিক মুখ্যমন্ত্রীর ঢালাও উপহারের খরচ কোথা থেকে আসে? কে মেটায়? গুঞ্জন, কৌতূহল উড়ে বেড়াচ্ছে শারদীয়া বাতাসে!

নবান্নের খবর, ২০১১ সালের মে মাসে ক্ষমতায় আসার পরেই মমতা জানিয়েছিলেন, তিনি সরকারের থেকে বেতন নেবেন না। সরকারি নিয়ম মেনে প্রতি মাসে তাঁর নামে বেতনের চেক তৈরি করে কলকাতা ট্রেজারি। কিন্তু মুখ্যমন্ত্রী তা প্রত্যাখ্যান করার পরে সেই চেকটি ট্রেজারি আবার নষ্ট করে দেয়। গত ৪০ মাস ধরে এমনই চলছে। অথচ এই ৪০ মাসেই পাল্লা দিয়ে বেড়ে চলেছে মুখ্যমন্ত্রীর উপহারের বহর! তৃণমূল সূত্রের খবর, মুখ্যমন্ত্রীর ঘনিষ্ঠ কিছু মন্ত্রী-নেতা, সাংসদ-বিধায়ক, টলিউড ব্যক্তিত্ব, ব্যবসায়ী এবং সাংবাদিকেরাও আছেন প্রাপকের তালিকায়। সরকারের বিভিন্ন দফতরের সচিব, জেলাশাসক, পুলিশ-কর্তা, এসপি এবং তাঁদের স্ত্রীরাও আছেন। সঠিক সংখ্যা কেউ না জানাতে পারলেও তালিকা কিন্তু খুব ছোট নয়! ঘনিষ্ঠদের মতে, দু-তিন হাজারও হতে পারে!  শুধু ঘনিষ্ঠ জনই নয়, প্রতি বছর পুজোর সময় নিয়ম করে বৃদ্ধাবাসে জামাকাপড় পাঠিয়ে থাকেন মমতা। এ বারও তার অন্যথা হয়নি। সোমবারই একটি বৃদ্ধাবাসে পৌঁছেছে তাঁর উপহার। পুজোর মরসুমে তাঁর গাড়িতে রাখা থাকে বিভিন্ন বয়সের উপযোগী জামাকাপড়। পথচলতি কাউকে দেখে মনে হলেই মমতা কিছু দিতে কার্পণ্য করেন না। শুধু নিকট বৃত্ত নয়, বহু অনাথ-আতুর এই ভাবেই মমতার উপহার পেয়ে থাকেন।

আয় বহির্ভূত সম্পত্তি থাকার জন্য জয়ললিতা জেলে

মুখ্যমন্ত্রী বলে নয়, ব্যক্তি মমতা নিজেই বরাবর উপহার দিতে ভালবাসেন। সেই বিরোধী নেত্রী বা রেলমন্ত্রী থাকার সময়েও তাঁর পছন্দের এবং ঘনিষ্ঠ লোকেদের হাতে প্রীতি-উপহার তুলে দিতেন তিনি। শুধু পুজোর মরসুম বলেই নয়, তাঁর ঘনিষ্ঠদের ব্যক্তিগত জীবনের স্মরণীয় দিনেও পৌঁছে গিয়েছে মমতার উপহার। তবে মুখ্যমন্ত্রী হওয়ার পরে তাঁর ঘনিষ্ঠ মহল যত কলেবরে বেড়েছে, উপহারও তত বেড়েছে! বিরোধী নেত্রী থাকার সময়ে মমতা ব্যাখ্যা দিয়েছিলেন, তাঁর নিজের খরচা বলতে বিশেষ কিছু নেই। সাংসদ হিসাবে বেতনের টাকা সঞ্চয় করে যা ব্যাঙ্কে আছে, তা থেকেই সামান্য উপহার দিয়ে থাকেন। কিন্তু এখনকার প্রশ্ন, কলসির জল গড়াতে গড়াতে এক দিন তো ফুরোবে! আয় না থাকলে কুবেরের ধনও ফুরোয়! অন্নপূর্ণা মুখ্যমন্ত্রীর উপহারের স্রোত তা হলে চলতেই থাকছে কী ভাবে?

স্বাভাবিক ভাবেই মমতার প্রশাসন বা দলের কেউ এই নিয়ে মুখ খুলতে নারাজ। প্রতি বছর উপহার প্রদানের এই প্রক্রিয়ায় বড় ভূমিকা থাকে কলকাতার মেয়র শোভন চট্টোপাধ্যায়ের। তিনিও মুখ খোলেননি।

তৃণমূলের এক নেতা অবশ্য বলছেন, “উপহার দিতে দিদি কোনও দিনই কার্পণ্য করেননি। বই লিখে রয়্যালটি বাবদ কিছু টাকা পান। সে সব দিয়ে উনি চালিয়ে নেন।” আর রাজ্য সরকারের এক আধিকারিকের কথায়, “ভেবে দেখতে গেলে, যিনি বেতন নেন না, তাঁর পক্ষে হাওয়াই চটিও কেনা সম্ভব নয়! কিন্তু মুখ্যমন্ত্রী ভালবেসে কিছু উপহার দেন। কোথা থেকে দেন, সে সব নিয়ে ভাবিনি কখনও!”

শাসক দলেরই একটি অংশের বক্তব্য, দলেই তাঁর ঘনিষ্ঠ কয়েক জনকে উপহার কেনার দায়িত্ব দেন মুখ্যমন্ত্রী। এ বারেও তার অন্যথা হয়নি। তবে সেই ঘনিষ্ঠদের টাকার উৎস কী, সেই প্রশ্নের জবাব অজানা!

দান-খয়রাতির জন্য রাজ্যের মুখ্যমন্ত্রী অবশ্য ইতিমধ্যেই নাম কুড়িয়েছেন। ক্ষমতায় আসার পরে তাঁর সরকার রাজ্য জুড়ে নানা নামে উৎসবের মেলা বসিয়ে দিয়েছে। তাঁর সরকারের দাক্ষিণ্য পেয়ে চলছে কয়েক হাজার ক্লাব। প্রতি বছর একাধিক নামে পুরস্কারও চালু করে দিয়েছেন মুখ্যমন্ত্রী। সব মিলিয়ে সরকারের পরিকল্পনা ও পরিকল্পনা বহির্ভূত খাত থেকে ফি-বছর কয়েকশো কোটি টাকা খরচ করা হচ্ছে। একই ভাবে চলছে তাঁর নিজস্ব উপহার সংস্কৃতি। বিরোধী শিবিরের এক নেতার কথায়, “কষ্টের সংসার বলে রোজ আক্ষেপ করেন যিনি, তিনিই ক্লাবকে লক্ষ লক্ষ টাকা অনুদান দেন। যিনি নিজে রোজগারহীন, তিনি দিব্যি উপহার দেন।”

দিল্লিতে তাঁর সরকারের এক মন্ত্রীর উপহার-সংস্কৃতির কথা জানতে পেরে রীতিমতো রুষ্ট হয়েছেন প্রধানমন্ত্রী নরেন্দ্র মোদী। দিল্লিতে সম্প্রতি এক সাংবাদিক সম্মেলনে ‘সৌর লন্ঠন’ উপহার দিয়েছিলেন কেন্দ্রীয় বিদ্যুৎ ও কয়লামন্ত্রী পীযূষ গয়াল। জানতে পেরে মন্ত্রিসভার বৈঠকে সকলের সামনেই পীযূষকে সতর্ক করে দিয়েছেন প্রধানমন্ত্রী।

বাংলায় সে সবের প্রশ্ন নেই! স্বয়ং মুখ্যমন্ত্রী বিলোচ্ছেন। কারণ, বিলোতে তিনি ভালবাসেন।

আরও পড়ুন -

ত্রাণ তহবিলে করের আরও ৪ কোটি

How honest is Mamata? Central fund diverted for "Mati Utsav"

Mamata’s own book “My Unforgettable Memories” published in the 2012 Kolkata Book Fair. The English is horrible, but one must read this book to know her extreme love for “falsehood and dishonesty” under the cover of the propaganda for “truth and honesty”. Question after question under section 6(i) of The Right To Information Act, 2005 to the Govt. during the last 6 (six) 
months and personal and confidential letters to her, but always being stone-walled either by “refusing to answer the questions” or by “not sending any answer”. Each letter having been sent to both her party addresses (i) at the Trinamool Bhaban atTopsia and (ii) the one attached to her Kalighat residence, both having been built/expanded unlawfully.

She has claimed at page 21 of her book “MyUnforgettable Memories” that as per her School Final Examination Certificate she was only 6 months younger to her elder brother Ajit, as told by Ajit himself. This is untenable as per the Voters’ List of 2005 where Mamata at Sl. No. 873 is shown to be 49 years of age and Ajit at Sl.No. 882 is shown to be 51 years of age which means a clear gap of morethan 1 (one) year at least. The lady not only talks and writes too much, but also lies more often than not. The Deccan Hearld, a very popular newspaper of South India has raised a question on her age, claiming that she first became an M.P. in 1984when she was under-aged for Loksabha Election as per law of the land.

Central funds diverted for Mati Utsav

TNN | Feb 10, 2013, 02.52 AM IST
KOLKATA: Nothing seems to deter chief minister MamataBanerjee from having her way. Despite criticism that her debt-strapped government was squandering funds by organising fairs and festivals, the CM is said to have asked the agriculture department to generate funds for the MatiUtsav.

Accordingly, the department decided to allocate lakhs of rupees from the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna (RKVY) - the central scheme that came into being during the Eleventh Plan for achieving a 4% growth rate in agriculture and allied sectors. Inquiries at Writers' Buildings revealed the agriculture department had to allocate funds under the plan heads to sponsor the earth festival.

In the last one week, nearly a crore of the Rs 2 crore spent on Mati Utsav came from RKVY funds. The money was sent to the account of Panagarh Panchayat Samity.

Officials in the state agriculture department revealed that the money was released from the contingency account for the RKVY scheme. Plan funds were being utilised by the state animal resource development (ARD) and water resource investigation departments under the RKVY scheme, they added.

Recently, the Left had accused the chief minister of fiscal indiscipline by diverting funds under plan head in organising events and doling out cash. Not very long ago, the CM had distributed Rs 40.09 crore to 2,395 clubs and promised to keep the handout "project" alive for five years. This disbursal, too, was routed through the plan head of the sports department.

Related Stories :
Real self of Mamata
Mamata Heading a Govt. by anti-socials?
Misuse of Govt. Money for self use

Asim picks holes in CM's 'empty coffer' claim

Express news service : Kolkata, Fri Jan 25 2013, 13:28 hrs

Senior CPM leader and former finance minister Asim Dasgupta on Thursday said there exists a discrepancy between the budgetary statement of the Trinamool Congress government and the claims made by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the "poor" condition of state's finances.
"While the budget states that the total receipts of the state government for 2012-13 was Rs 1,00,366 crore, the Chief Minister repeatedly claims that it is only Rs 21,000 crores. It is quite misleading,'' Dasgupta told mediapersons at the party's state headquarters at Alimuddin Street.
He said that after the expenditure on the payment of interest, loans, salaries and pensions, the government is still left with a surplus of about nearly Rs 34,000 crores. "Why is the State government facing problems? Has it incurred any non-budgetary expenditure," Dasgupta asked. Referring to the non-plan expenditure of the state government, Dasgupta said the loan burden will swell to at least Rs 2.26 lakh crore by March 2013, up from Rs 1.92 lakh crore when the LF stepped down in May 2011.
He said the impact on expenditure on account of salary after the implementation of the new pay commission during the regime of the Left Front "has come down significantly. So, what is the problem ?" he wondered. He also referred to the decline in small savings and said that it was linked to the proliferation of chit funds.


Relevant Story : Misuse of public money by Bengal Govt.

Misuse of Public Money by Bengal Govt.

Govt trapped in Mamata's populism

By Ajanta Chakraborty | Feb 5, 2013, 06.51 AM IST

KOLKATA: Who is right - the chief minister or her finance minister? When CM Mamata Banerjee claims that her government has fulfilled 90% of her development programme, finance minister Amit Mitra fusses and frets just to make ends meet, what to speak of development.

Mamata's magical numbers apart, data from the finance department bears out the kind of challenge the finance minister is trying to come to grips with.

The state has to spend Rs 25,561 crore in debt servicing and Rs 40,000 crore towards salaries and pension. These two add up to Rs 65,561 crore. And on the revenue side of the balance sheet, the picture is hardly comforting.

The Mamata Banerjee government has improved its tax mobilization, and along with the non-tax revenue, the income comes to Rs 34,885 crore. Add to it another Rs 21,976 crore that the state gets as its share of central tax and duties, and Bengal has an income of Rs 56,851 crore. Its liability is Rs 65,561 crore, leaving a gap of Rs 8,700 crore.

What's significant, this is minus the allocations under the plan head. But what about the Rs 20,000 crore central grant that Bengal receives for central projects? State finance officials say that the fund is project specific and cannot be used for meeting non-plan expenses.

Even while funding the Rs 17,000 crore plan allocation the state cannot use the Rs 20,000 central grants as it wishes to. The central grant is released in tranches only after the government furnishes utilisation certificates for the work done.

That explains why Mamata Banerjee had once asked for untied funds from the Centre to come out of the debt trap. The government has rephrased its demand of late, and is asking for a moratorium on central loans, but the purpose is the same - to get money that will help the government leverage the expenditure under different heads, both plan and non-plan.

People in Bengal appreciated the difficulty because Mamata Banerjee inherited a debt-burden of Rs 1.98 lakh crore left behind by the Left Front government.

What next? The finance rule book says that the state government has to curb revenue expenditure, and raise its own generation to bridge the gap. Amit Mitra has done the second. He increased tax mobilization in the first and second quarters in the present fiscal. But the chief minister did little to enforce austerity.

On the contrary, the CM went ahead with extra-budgetary pay-outs like Rs 40.09 crore to 2,395 para clubs, Rs 126 crore as honorarium to Imams and Muezzins, organizing festivals, embarking upon elaborate district tours and announcing hundreds of jobs off hand.

"A debt restructuring should essentially be preceded by a set of austerity measures," said Dipankar Dasgupta, former professor of economics at Indian Statistical Institute. "Even if the new government did not indulge in such unproductive expenditure, the money at their disposal would not have been very large, thanks to bad inheritance," conceded the ISI economist. But he can't help saying that the government is overspending on the non-plan revenue account.

However, the government isn't listening. In the last 20 months, not a single audit committee meeting was convened at Writers' Buildings. The quarterly audit meet - a norm for two decades now - is crucial for identifying deficiencies and plugging loopholes and fixing responsibility for financial irregularities.

Officials said most of the 52 government departments have not bothered to reply to audit queries so far and the lack of audit committee meetings would have a spiralling effect on the coffers.

Instead, a proper investment in infrastructure would have helped the government fetch private investments, generate jobs and thus give a push to tax mobilization. The ISI economist cited instances of poorer states such as Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha that have managed much higher tax-GSDP figures.

So when Amit Mitra meets the Union finance minister in Delhi for a palliative, the Centre may ask him to submit a consolidated road map for recovery that is pending since the days of former Bengal finance minister Asim Dasgupta. His successor hasn't been able to able to give a roadmap either.



Related Story: Bengal's money crunch - A damn untruth!

Democratic Rights - A Farce in Bengal?

Showcause notices to WB professors for giving opinion on TV

After the cartoon controversy in which a Jadavpur University professor was arrested, the West Bengal government has now issued showcause notices to two government college professors for appearing in a TV programme where they allegedly made 'anti-government' comments.
Debasish Sarkar, professor of Jhargram Raj College and Sampa Sen, professor of Hooghly Mohsin college, were issued showcause notices by the Higher Education directorate seeking to know whether they had taken prior permission from the state government before taking part in the TV programme.
However, Higher Education Minister Bratya Basu said on Friday that there should be no controversy in the matter.
"We have only sought to know if as government college teachers, they have taken prior permission from the department as per rules.
"Freedom of expression is for everyone. I have nothing to comment," Basu said, adding that adherence to rules was mandatory by government college teachers.
The minister said that the notice was issued after another professor sent an email to the grievance cell of the Education department seeking to know if permission was taken by the two for taking part in the TV programme and that they had violated rules by expressing opinions against the state government.
Refusing to comment if the government move was aimed at gagging the freedom of expression, Debasish Sarkar said "I have been asked to reply to the showcause notice in 15 days and I will do it in line with the rules.
"Whatever I have to say, I will state in writing to the government. The government only wanted to know if I took prior permission before expressing my opinion on the TV programme," he said.
Shompa Sen also said she had received the showcause notice and would reply to it.
The incident came two months after a chemistry teacher of Jadavpur University, Ambikesh Mohapatra, was arrested for forwarding emails of a cartoon on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Railway Minister Mukul Roy and former railway minister Dinesh Trivedi.

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/wb-govt-notice-to-govt-teachers-for-giving-opinion-on-tv-show/1/199942.html

Double standard liar Mamata Banerjee

Now Mamata's Trinamool caught into cartoon row

Tags: Mamata Banerjee | Trinamool | Cartoon row | Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury

The CM herself gave statements at a public gathering protesting such cartooning.

Once Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress had slapped charges of criminal offence against Jadavpur University's chemistry professor Ambikesh Mahapatr a for forwarding a mail containing pictures of the then railway minister Mukul Roy, his predecessor Dinesh Trivedi and the Trinamool supremo.

Now Didi's brigade has kicked off a hate campaign against Union Minister of State for Railways Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury by derogatory cartoons that shows the senior Congress MP from Baharampore wearing a half pant and green T-shirt.

The campaign began ahead of Chowdhury's scheduled programme in North 24-Parganas' Kancrapara where he attended the 150th anniversary of a railway workshop on Monday.

The banners carry pictures of the junior railway minister wearing short pant and green shirt. It reads: "Ami school-er gondi na periyeo dayai rail mantri. Ki kore je chalabo, Hari-bol Balo-hari. (I haven't completed my school but still I have got the charge of railway ministry at the mercy of my party. I don't know how to run the ministry… Hari Bol, Balo Hari)."

Another banner also showed the cartoon of Chowdhury carrying a weight on his back and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking him: "Rail-er file-er chaap beshi na criminal case-er chaap beshi. (Which one weightier - the pressure of having criminal charges against you or carrying files of the railways?)

Sources said the hateful campaign was launched by none other than Subhranshu Roy, son of former Rrailway Minister Mukul Roy and a local Trinamool MLA from Bijpur Assembly constituency.

Earlier, Jadavpur University professor Ambikesh Mahapatra was bashed up by Trinamool Congress activists and put behind the bars for forwarding a mail carrying excerpts from Satyajit Roy's famous Bengali film 'Sonal Kella' (Golden Fort).

Though the mail never carried any hate messages and had no malicious intensions. It was already doing round on a popular social networking site (Facebook).

The CM herself gave statements at a public gathering protesting such cartooning and threatened of dire consequence if anyone ever tries his hands in it.

Mahapatra and his neighbour Subrata Sengupta had been arrested In April this year from Kolkata's neighbouring Garia locality for spreading "anti-Mamata Banerjee" cartoons on the internet. The secretary of Mahapatra's Housing Society, Sengupta was arrested as Mahapatra had allegedly used the society's registered e-mail id to circulate the cartoon strip.

The cartoon was a caricature of Oscar-winning filmmaker Satyajit Ray's thriller "Sonar Kella". The caricature showed Mamata and her lieutenant Mukul Roy discussing how to get rid of party MP and former railways minister Dinesh Trivedi.

The content had been doing rounds on the internet after Banerjee had forced Trivedi to resign from his post after he presented the railway budget.

Sources said Mahapatra uploaded the cartoon on his Facebook account, besides sending it to 65 people via e-mail. The email content, carrying derogatory images of the West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, was forwarded to many recipients mocking Trinamool government's policies with a caption that read: "Enjoy Sonar Kella for Sonar Bangla."

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/now-mamata-banerjee-trinamool-congress-caught-into-cartoon-row/1/234849.html

Doublespeak, Vicious, Malicious campaign by Mamata

CM blames Maoists in Jnaneswari flip-flop, CPM demands apology

Mishra Fumes At ‘Malicious Campaign’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 17.11.11

Surjya Kanta Mishra congratulates Mamata Banerjee after she was sworn in as an MLA on Wednesday

Kolkata:Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday squarely blamed the Maoists for the Jnaneswari Express carnage in May 2010, eating her own words as railway minister when she had smelt a “political conspiracy” in the sabotage of railway tracks that led to the death of 160 people. 
    “The train disaster in which 160 people were killed was done by them (Maoists). It is now proved,” she said on a day that marked the formal beginning of her assembly stint. The volte-face comes more than a year after pro-change intellectuals pinned blame for the carnage on CPM. “The needle of suspicion is towards CPM,” former bureaucrat and current Trinamool MP Debabrata Bandyopadhyay had said at a press conference a day before the KMC polls. 
    At a news conference she addressed on May 30 last year, Mamata had said, “The derailment was planned to link it with the civic polls, 
but voters will see through the conspiracy... People who do not like me may be behind the incident to put the blame on Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool Congress.” Some weeks later, on July 21, she said, “I am prepared to resign if CPM guarantees it will not indulge in sabotage. They have been planning sabotage. They are trying to ruin the (reputation of) the railways by letting cockroaches into food. It is time for CPM to go... ” 
    Now, with the CBI concluding that the train attack was carried out by the Maoists, there is no room for conspiracy theories. Leader of the opposition Surjya Kanta Mishra demanded an apology from the CM for the “false malicious” campaign against CPM. BONHOMIE & BARBS 
    I am prepared to resign if CPM 
    guarantees it will not indulge 
    in sabotage. They have been planning sabotage. They are trying to ruin the (reputation of) the railways by letting cockroaches into food. It is time for CPM to go. The Jnaneswari Express accident took place on May 28, two days before the Kolkata Municipal Corporation elections 
Mamata Banerjee | ON JULY 21, 2010 The train disaster in which 160 people were killed was done by them (Maoists). It is now proved Mamata Banerjee | ON NOV 16, 2011CM doesn’t have right intent: Surjya 
Kolkata: Leader of the Opposition Surjya Kanta Mishra has demanded an apology from the chief minister for blaming CPM for the Jnaneswari Express carnage. 
    “The chief minister has been forced to admit the truth. But I will not say she has realized her mistake. CBI had investigated the case and pinned the blame on Maoists. The Union home minister has also said much the same. Even the state police, it appears, have arrested a person (PCPA leader Asit Mahato) who, the CBI claims, was involved. She should publicly apologize for the false and malicious campaign her party had launched. Since she has stopped short of it, I would say she doesn’t have the right intent,” Mishra said on Wednesday. 
    Shortly afterwards, the chief minister clarified her statement in an interview to a news channel. “The Maoists were responsible for the disaster, but had made them do it? We have our suspicion. We can’t state this without evidence. Many killings have taken place in the name of the Maoists. The Maoists have links with CPM. During the CPM regime, many people, including EFR personnel at Silda and an officer-in-charge in a police station in West Midnapore, lost their lives at the hands of the Maoists,” Mamata said. 
    Asked why she had accused CPM of being behind the train disaster and was now blaming the Maoists, she clarified, “We had a certain amount of suspicion. It still remains. When this comes up in court, this will be stated.”

Breakdown of Law and order in West Bengal, India

Violence rocks West Midnapore

Nov 10, 2011, 04.48AM IST


MIDNAPORE:West Midnapore is reeling under fresh political violence in the run-up to the 2013 panchayat polls with no political party ready to concede any ground. The Congress has already announced it will go alone in the district civic polls. Four incidents of political clashes have been reported in the district in 24 hours and in two cases, Congress claimed that Trinamool men had attacked them.

In Pingla's Bajageria village, Pingla block Congress president Prasanta Chakraborty was severely assaulted, allegedly by Trinamool supporters. Chakraborty was first admitted in Pingla hospital, but as his condition deteriorated, he was shifted to Midnapore Medical College Hospital. District Congress president Swapan Dubey alleged that across the district, Congress workers were being assaulted by Trinamool members.

"We will meet the chief minister and apprise her of the matter," he said. In Nayagram, Congress district general secretary Anil Sikaria led a rally to protest the assault of Youth Congress supporters who'd gone to Nayagram to attend a Youth Congress training meet on Sunday. Sikaria later met Jhargram SP Gaurav Sharma and urged police to arrest the Trinamool supporters who'd perpetrated the attacks. The other attacks took place in Kharagpur (rural) and Narayangarh where CPM withstood the Trinamool surge in the assembly polls.

Trinamool blamed CPM for both the attacks. Police complaints were lodged in both the cases.

Regular death of Babies in West Bengal Hospitals due to Mamata Govt.'s negligence

Five more babies die in WB hospital

PTI | Nov 13, 2011, 11.15PM IST


BURDWAN (WB): Five more babies died inBurdwan Medical College and Hospital in the last 24 hours, taking the toll to 17 in recent times. 

Deputy superintendent of the hospital, Dr Tapas Kumar Ghosh said five children who were underweight and brought to the referral hospital in a critical condition died since Saturday. 

The babies were referred to the government hospital by local hospitals in Burdwan and Birbhum districts, he said. 

Ghosh said the death was within the normal range of crib death in the hospital. 

"As per the rate of crib death, 4-5 children die in the hospital every day. There has been no negligence on the part of the doctors and other medical staff," he said. 

The expert team, that visited the hospital after 12 children died on October 28, ruled out any negligence on the part of the doctors and hospital staff, he said. 

The hospital has no neo-natal unit and lacks adequate infrastructure to handle the rush of sick children, the team of experts had said. 

Besides the immediate installation of neo-natal unit, the experts had also stressed on increasing the number of beds in the hospital, sources said.

Siphon Off Public Money?

Mamata's committees: Too many cooks?

Saturday - Jul 30, 2011, 04:00pm (GMT+5.5)

Kolkata - West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's penchant for setting up expert committees on a range of issues has triggered a debate, with questions being raised about their motive and effectiveness.
Soon after assuming power in May, Banerjee has been constituting panels comprising luminaries from diverse fields to guide her in policymaking in areas like industry, land and education.
"She desperately needs the advice of experts. The success of the committees depends on the members. They must not only be experts but must think beyond party lines and political affiliations," political analyst Samir Kumar Das told IANS.
Das, a Calcutta University professor, however, said it can be a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth. "It is difficult to assume that all the committee members will have similar opinions. Problems can multiply when the recommendations of some members are accepted while others aren't," added Das.
Among the committees is the high-profile Presidency Mentor Group, chaired by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's grandnephew Sugata Bose, formed to revive the lost glory of Presidency University. The group includes a host of luminaries from diverse fields.
Debabrata Bandopadhyay, of the two-member expert committee to draft land policy, said: "I have completed my report and given it in 15 days. There is no reason why others will not do it."
Asked if the committees will turn out to be the proverbial case of too many cooks spoiling the broth, Bandopadhyay said: "I cannot say about other cooks spoiling the broth but this cook has finished his cooking."
"Of course, the committees will come good for what they have been set up. They have not been set up for fun," he added.
However, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) parliamentarian Basudeb Acharia dismissed the utility of these committees.
"They are mere eyewash. Before the elections she sought support from the Maoists and the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM). She has to now set up a committee for freeing the Maoists and a committee for the GJM," he said.
Banerjee has also set up a 13-member committee consisting of former judge Moloy Sengupta and right activist Sujato Bhadro, among others, to review the status of detainees and those jailed in political cases.
Echoing Acharia, rights activist Choton Das also questioned the fate of the committees.
"It is a kind of legacy that we have got from different governments. Many a committee is formed but nothing fruitful happens. Committees are a way of diverting the attention of people. Only time will tell whether she (Banerjee) carries forward that legacy or is an exception," said Das, general secretary of the Bandi Mukti Committee, a rights organisation.
However, Banerjee found support in social activist Anuradha Talwar, who was her comrade-in-arms in many protests.
"I don't think the committees are non-functional. In fact, the committees on land reforms and political prisoners have already submitted their recommendations. Committees are a good way for the government to communicate with various experts and get their opinions," she said.
Samir Das was also apprehensive of the 23-member core committee on industry that the chief minister had set up in the midst of an interaction with industrialists and business bodies.
Das voiced concern that the members who belong to business houses will push for their own interests.
However, Bharat Chamber of Commerce president and core group member Pavan Poddar denied the charge.
"The issues discussed are broad and apply to the whole of the state. So I don't think there is any chance of people serving personal welfare. It is also too early to say if the committee will be successful or not," he said.
She has also set up a 15-member house committee comprising members of the ruling coalition as well as the opposition to discuss the proposed legislative council for West Bengal.
Another committee that has been recently announced will monitor the movement of commodity prices and prevent black marketing.
Banerjee, during her stint as railway minister, had set up as many as six committees and reconstituted two of them.

By Anurag Dey

Falsehood and lies of Mamata overlooked by Bengal Media

Shika Mukerjee: Mamata dream sequence ends

By Shikha Mukerjee

Like a grand infatuation that is pursuing its natural course towards an inevitable end, the heady, halcyon days of the media’s romance with Mamata Banerjee as the harbinger of “change” or “parivartan” are coming to an end. Sunday, October 30: the mainstream print media is showing distinct signs of doubt about Didi’s capacity to deliver on her promises; her announcement that for the next one month all her attention would be focused on “industry,” her “Diwali-gift” of projects to the people of West Bengal produced sceptical headlines.

Of the two dozen or so daily newspapers in Kolkata, the story of the Diwali gift or Industrial Revolution was the lead in many, the second or even third lead in some and appeared below the fold in a few rare exceptions. It is not a categorical imperative that Mamata’s initiatives on industrialisation must be the universal lead in every newspaper or even television. The Telegraph said, ‘A Diwali ‘gift’ but not so perfect’. The Times of India said, ‘Industry bonanza hits Singur hurdle’. The Ananda Bazar Patrika said, ‘Mamata takes the field to gain Industry’s confidence.’ Ekdin said, ‘Assurances of Industrial revolution in West Bengal to restore its golden past’. Pratidin said, ‘Now the Industrial Revolution.’ Bartamaan said, ‘Migration in search of jobs to end: Mamata.’

On television, especially the top five 24X7 Bangla news channels, more widely watched and consequently of greater significance in terms of reflecting popular sentiment, the story was listed a long way after news on crib deaths and the newest Maoist demands. National news channels insistently reported on the growing number of crib deaths and the failure of the political leadership, namely Mamata, to respond to the situation as an emergency.

A month or two earlier, no market savvy newspaper or television channel would have given a negative spin to any story featuring Mamata as the principal actor. By describing her Diwali gift as old projects repackaged as new, the newspapers are signalling that the romance is nearing its end. Some newspapers even listed which of the 10 projects that Mamata had announced as new initiatives had been sold to the public before. Some said that the list included so many public sector projects that the lack of interest of private investors was obvious. Some even quoted unnamed industrialists and public sector officials on why the list was a made up story of possibilities.

One strong indication of the romance going stale was a story in The Telegraph on October 21, ‘Mamataisms at the Crossroads’, that analysed and checked off the status of her initiatives on her priority issues during the long, long campaign against the Communist Party of India Marxist’s misrule and arrived at the conclusion that she had made little headway though many starts, even if most were false ones.  The clash between the suave and pedigreed Trinamool Congress finance minister Amit Mitra and the former less socially elite, but no less academically qualified finance minister Asim Dasgupta was a delicious play off in which Dr Dasgupta has certainly scored a bull’s eye. As the story appeared, it was evident that The Telegraph, The Ananda Bazar, Ekdin, The Times of India were all clued in on who would win the fight.

Assisted by the media, Dasgupta launched a methodical and technically sound demolition job on Mamata’s claims that a mere 6 per cent of the state’s money was available for development. The apparently academic point that Dasgupta made – on how the calculation was wrong – is in effect a lit fuse, politically. The positive play that Dasgupta received is the measure of the decline of Mamata’s magic in the media. The contrast is particularly striking because three months ago, when he made a similar point and was very critical that the new government had not presented a conventional budget, the media found ways of converting the criticism into the peeve of a loser. It dragged in seriously negative evaluations of his tenure as finance minister of the CPM government and quite openly jeered at him.

It is intriguing that whereas Dasgupta’s earlier salvos did not get any support from the popular band of economists, this broadside had several economists, including one or two known CPM baiters and Trinamool Congress admirers confirming the accuracy of the ex-finance minister’s statement.

In contrast, the very soft treatment that Mamata has received over crib deaths underscores her star quality.  The “failure” of the health system in tackling a crisis was played up in terms of the numbers of crib deaths at the BC Roy Memorial Hospital for Children. Media went out into the districts to find more instances of failure, in a show of initiative that indicates that the story has regained its own life instead of being a frame within which Mamata and her government are artfully displayed. But the media did not pick on her when she brushed aside questions at a press meet, declaring, “ask the health secretary” and “this is about industry”. Nor did it bay for her blood when she responded “What can I do.”

The quagmire in which negotiations with the Maoists have been stuck, the declining credibility of the negotiators, the revision of strategy for dealing with the obviously reinvigorated ultra Left has not led to direct criticism of Mamata, but it has produced a shift in treatment. Even though the media has not underlined the abrupt change in Mamata’s stand, from declaring “There are no Maoists-Phaoists in West Bengal” to calling them “supari-killers” and “cowards,” it has turned watchful and cautious about the chief minister’s capacity to handle the problem, classifying it as one of the “Mamataisms.”

Industry, finances, health, Maoists covers much of what Mamata promised as part of her Parivartan politics. By reserving judgment on the promises that she made – return of land to unwilling farmers of Singur, now mired in a legal battle, ending the Maoist problem, opening the doors to a flood of fresh investments, delivering better governance, extracting more money from the Centre – the media has played fair or even handled her with kid gloves. It has not clamoured for answers at the gradually but noticeably fewer press meets. She has not been cornered or pushed up against a wall.

In fact the media has been unusually, almost unethically, gentle in its interactions with Mamata Banerjee. It has tolerated, even after she became chief minister, the ferocious regulation of access that she exercises with the media. It has accepted with good grace the fact that there are some newspersons who have 24X7 access to her and that the rest have to depend on these select few for camera footage and reporting. The band of faithful is privy to the best footage at every photo-opportunity; they are welcome in her office and get interviews. The rest have to make do with crumbs cast their way. The absence of protest is, as one journalist said, a measure of her “charisma.”

Put differently, the news media cannot function without the crumbs because its audience or public remains loyal to the charismatic leader. No media publication or channel can afford to black out the things that Mamata does or says. No media channel can complain on air that it never gets a chance to interview the leader. No media channel can protest if a newsperson from another “house” sits in on an interview when it is finally granted. If after this prolonged discriminatory treatment the media has chosen to suck it up rather than raise a furore then it signals the popularity of Mamata Banerjee and the risk of annoying her. Therefore even when media persons privately complain bitterly about the “humiliation,” “discrimination” and “difficulty,” they have not as yet turned critical or even objectively analytical. The stories that the media does not report vastly outnumber the stories that it does; the discretion is exercised over what the public and positive image of Mamata can bear versus the stories that reveal the negative in terms of faults, whims, bad decisions.

A year back, the CPM government would have been excoriated if it had spun the funds available for development story in the manner in which Mamata presented her desperate case at the National Development Council meeting in New Delhi. It would have trashed stories about promised bailouts by the Centre, especially Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the West Bengal government for reasons of political sympathy. It would have gleefully pointed out that the Centre’s failure to deliver on promises was a pointer to the declining clout of the political leadership of West Bengal. In other words, Mamata is getting the best deal that the media has ever offered to any member of the political establishment anywhere; it has suspended disbelief and meekly accepted its assigned role in the Mamata era, as a faithful purveyor of designer messages.

The writer is a senior journalist.