In a development that opposition parties promptly dismissed as “scripted and aimed at re-building an image, sullied by multiple exposes on state-sponsored corruption,” Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday stalled a public programme for good 20 minutes and rebuked the District Magistrate and Block Development Officer in front of thousands of people for failing to comply with government orders.

The order thus being spoken of was on procurement and bringing on the stage 15,000 blankets, shawls and sweaters to be distributed by the Chief Minister among the public.

When she found out that only sweaters had been brought at the venue, a furious Chief Minister rebuked the DM with the microphone on, asking why the blankets had not been brought on stage.

Banerjee told the DM, “Whenever there are any lapses by the police or any other department everyone blames me … why will I have to take it every time … where are the blankets for me to be distributed?”

When the DM informed that they had been kept at the BDO office she thundered: “I will take strong action against you.” When requested to continue with her speech as there were other programmes too the Chief Minister said “I had come for distributing the blankets … so there is no point continuing the meeting … first bring the blankets then I will speak … till then I am sitting here and so does the crowd.”

The Chief Minister stalled the meeting for a good 20 minutes after which the blankets were rushed to the venue. Banerjee distributed 1,000 blankets from the Tuesday rally.

Hours later Bengal Opposition Leader Suvendu Adhikari called it a “model example of how the Mamata Banerjee Government functions … the incident itself proves that there is no coordination in the administration … the whole bureaucracy is demoralised in the face of government-sponsored corruption … everyone is thinking of saving one’s job … this demoralisation will further go up if the officers are rebuked in public in this manner.”

CPI(M) leadership said that the incident pointed at the poor condition of the State. “We wanted to bring industry so that the people can lead a better life but Mamata Banerjee drove them away … now she has to distribute blankets as the people don’t even have that money,” party State committee member Kaustav Chatterjee said adding the Tuesday’s “histrionics” was a scripted before to give a lift to the Chief Minister’s sagging image.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister on Tuesday announced the formation of a separate Sunderbans district. The district will be carved out of existing two districts of North and South 24 Parganas.

The formation of the new district majorly comprising the Royal Bengal Tiger zone of the Sundrabans would help the administration to concentrate more on the development of the swampy area crisscrossed by scores of backwater rivers and many more creeks plagued by steady erosion and advancing sea. Several river islands have already disappeared into the sea since 1967 and many are on the verge of extinction.