Mamta Didi - What About The Living Deads?

Just when you think she can’t go any further in avoiding her responsibilities and behaving irrationally, Mamta Banarjee comes forward and proves you wrong. Today morning I had a chat with an old friend who works in Kolkata for some IT farm. It was well into 11 in the morning and the poor soul was yet to reach office. Not to mention, he has already missed an important morning meeting and in the verge of missing another. The agony in his voice for some mercy was quite evident which sounded more like a plight than anger. Now if you wonder how my friend being late to office has got anything to do with Mamta Banarjee or any one, then take a pause and hear the answer – the delay was due to Mamta Banarjee only.

A city like Kolkata where Bandh, Dharna and public rallies are part of the lifestyle, one should not be too annoyed about some odd rally making you stand in the mid of the road for hours together in-turn forcing you to miss that all important meeting, the direly needed job interview, dying friend who need you there at the earliest to donate your blood to save his life and last but not the least your very livelihood. Ask those hand rickshaw pullers whose entire day goes amidst the thick of one or the other rally or Dharna. Seeing his own kids going to bed empty stomach that night, just because a certain Mamta Banarjee or one Buddhadev Bhattacharya thought to have a public gathering is some pain which even words would struggle to describe.

The rally which caught my friend unaware is one such rally. The Bengal election which many say is going to be historical in more ways than one had the entire flavor spiked with it; as huge stakes are at scrutiny. A party which ruled (read screwed) the state for the better part of last three decades and made sure to drive back the once thriving Calcutta to misery and poverty by their corporate unfriendly and anti-development agendas is right at the verge of getting extinct. With the yesteryear stalwarts of the party trying their best to keep afloat the sinking ship, it is more than expected to be a violent and vibrant election. Mamta Banarjee, who seems to have the dream of occupying the Writers building since the days she was inside her mother’s womb is leaving no stones unturned to ensure one unceremonious and humiliating exit for the left. So as expected Kolkata is witnessing more rallies than the number of Bengali Bhadraloks they have, on daily basis. If my friend is to be believed then the areas surrounding Writers buildings, Kalighat, Rabindro Sadan (and many such other names for which you have to make a cone out of your lips to speak) are occupied by permanently erected Samianas. It is only the faces that are changing as far as gracing the stage is concerned. Today Mamta, tomorrow Buddha and on the third day a funny looking chap whom nobody knows who is but remember of seeing him in Times Now and possesses a striking resemblance to Suresh Kalmadi. Hang-on, somebody confirmed – he is one of the spokespersons of left who only has his dental furniture to show as part of his face. This must be frustrating? The entire city being hijacked on daily basis for personal show of strength with utterances like Cholbe Naa hitting you from all directions. Believe you me – things can’t get worse than this. You can go fishing with your office or your important meeting. When Mamta Didi is meeting common people on an open podium, all other meetings doesn’t hold any significance for discussion. By the way – for a stat, it is Didi who had at least double the number of public gatherings than the left during this election.

The other day I saw a clipping of Didi’s magnanimity on TV. She was occupying the stage with a lady who seemed like fresh back from Somalia or one of those who was fasting alongside Anna Hazare. Barely able to stand or speak the lady did manage to utter something (which was not audible enough to understand) and then almost fainted (as if she was waiting for this to utter and then go down unconscious). Before she could be picked up Didi almost jumped over her and started speaking at the peak of her voice – ‘Eto eek rokom Atyachar. Yeh Cholbena.Yeh sorkar ki ek ekta mruto ra jabab dete hoi’. Which in English primarily means – this is atrocity of highest degree and the present government has to answers for each and every death. Wow!! Let me tell you - That was some firey speech and could possibly have made few wet their dhotis back in the Writers building. But what was that made Didi so furious all of a sudden that she started counting all the deaths in a public gathering? And what atrocity she is referring and how the lady who just fainted got anything to do with those? After few minute of minute observation I did managed to get to the crux of it – The woman (who fainted) is the widow of one of the three (TMC workers) those were killed in Midnapur district, allegedly by CPIM goondas. As per Didi, the women’s life is anything but ruined, thanks to the left government’s indifference towards criminal free governance and the government needs to answer for all these deaths. It is admirable Didi that you care so much for the dead but what about the living deads? Do you equally care for them as well?

Are you aware of the conditions of a certain Arunima Sinha? Or has the polls in Bengal made your memory go thin or you simply don’t have time to bother for such nonsense during the most important election of your life? If the question has simply irked you; it also could be entirely fare as when the post of CM is at stake, an ordinary individual like Arunima did never or will ever fit into the scheme of things. But weren’t you at present the Railways Minister of India? Even though there is still time before you become the CM of Bengal (let the voting end and people decide by ballot) you seems to be more interested in that, conveniently side kicking your present responsibilities of a cabinet minister heading an important portfolio like Railways. The basketball player from UP who becomes yet another casualty of the mismanagement of our Railways is paying for the callousness of you and your team. For no apparent reason a budding sports star’s life was pushed into oblivion by few miscreants near Aligarh and yet none at the Railways seems too keen to take a note of it, let alone accepting the responsibilities. The scoundrels who carried this out are roaming free and possibly could be eyeing their next pray while we are taking. I know law-and-order is a state subject and the GRP are under state police, but ensuring safety to commuters in Railways is your ministry’s responsibility. More off, it is not just one of case. The occurrences of such events are more than frequent now-a-days. Either, blame it on the sudden upsurge of the number of goondas in the country or the plain easy going and Kamchori attitude of your ministry – the common man is suffering. While the Railways should have taken up the case so-motto and should have investigated themselves, you are busy doing rounds of the Maoist affected areas of Bengal for your election campaign. If your election is important for you than your intervention in matter of seriousness like Arunima’s then you should leave your damn election campaign and rush to Delhi and take your job seriously is our interest and demand. Being the people’s representative you must go by what people want than what you want. If not then please feel obliged to leave the post and move on.

For years the whole nation waited with grasp and agony while you keep on giving more and more railway projects to Bengal. While at the other part of the country people went to dharna demanding a much waited train passing through their village you keep on giving more trains to Bengal. If it is true then somebody told on Wednesdays there are 3 trains which leave for Mumbai at the same time from Howrah. You moved all railways selection examinations to Kolkata leaving your own goons to take care of the outstation applicants. In your tenure you were only seen in Rail Bhawan during Rail Budget or the times when you feel like paying a visit to your ministry. This is not irresponsibility but plain absurdity. We all know what your core interest is – that is to become the CM of Bengal. It is absolutely fine and we are none to dispute your interest but at the at the same we don’t appreciate anyone (not even you) disputing our interest to have a mature, responsible person to head the Railways, unlike you who thinks it as a stop gap arrangement. For a change we might have to say – ‘Yeh Cholbe Naa’

If the absurdity was not enough, a group of jokers from GRP did some investigation and come up with their findings that left the entire nation high-and-dry. According to the brilliant minds, Arunima was never confronted by goondas nor did anyone push her out of the train. She only would have decided to commit suicide instead by jumping off herself. That is more than laughable. But the irony is – none at the railways is interested to raise an objection to this report. When I say railways, I always count you out as you never were a part of it to begin with. We already know your irate priorities and are pretty much adjusted to that. When you can be so concerned about the dead husband (a good year back) of that fainted woman, where is the same affection and vigor for this living dead Arunima?

So why this hypocrisy Didi? When you never care for the living deads but accuse them instead, how fair you are for the already deads is anybody’s guess. In nutshell – neither you care an ounce for the dead husband of that woman nor the amputed Arunima. All that matters to you is that A/C room inside the Writers building while the rest of the nation can go to hail. I am not sure about the people of Bengal but your responsibility ducking attitude which you more than just flaunted during your notorious stay at the Railways does not give me much confidence. Left have done a huge damage to the state and its image and certainly deserved to be kicked out but you as a replacement is certainly which I don’t fancy much. Looking at the way you treated the Railways, I am not sure you would be any better than the left for the state. I wish and hope I am proved wrong but honestly; looks highly unlikely, more so after witnessing your gibberish performance at the center as a cabinet minister. May God give the people of Bengal enough strength to tolerate yet another 3 decades of mis-governance post the Left era by none other than their own Didi only. Shiii….