Centre, West Bengal need to work in tandem
It has taken nine months for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss issues of the State's development with him. Clearly, her petty political compulsions restrained her from doing so earlier. But then, as her one-time time close associate and now estranged Trinamool Congress leader Mukul Roy remarked, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, “It's better late than never”. Now that the two leaders formally met on Monday, it will be interesting to see whether the interaction leads to movement on the ground. Ms Banerjee's reported offer of help to the Centre to ink a bilateral accord with Bangladesh on Teesta water-sharing and settle the land border swap agreement must be heartily welcomed.
Given that she had fiercely resisted the finalisation of the two matters during the Congress-led UPA Government's stint and had even dropped out at the last minute from accompanying then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Bangladesh, the change in position is significant. And it comes soon after her own recent successful trip to Dhaka and a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Ms Banerjee's coming on board paves the way for the land deal as well as the water-sharing pact to be formalised possibly during Mr Modi's visit to Bangladesh later this year.
The West Bengal Chief Minister's thawed posture may not, however, extend to other areas of cooperation with the Centre. While she is reported to have signalled her party's support to the coal Bill to replace an ordinance that paved the way for e-auction of coal blocks following Supreme Court directives, Ms Banerjee is still vehemently opposed to the land acquisition Bill in its present format. It remains to be seen whether the amendments that the Union Government is, according to the media, working on, will soften her position. Besides, Ms Banerjee is also strongly against the insurance Bill that provides for foreign direct investment up to 49 per cent. And, while the Modi Government will certainly want to gain her support in these areas, there is a limit to what it can offer ‘in return'.
For instance, Ms Banerjee would be on cloud nine if the Centre were to waive off the huge debts and the accompanying interest the State has inherited from the previous left Front regime. But, from available indications, Mr Modi has refused to commit. On the other hand, the Prime Minister has pointed out to her the new and considerable flow of revenue to the State by way of coal auction proceedings and the Union Government's decision to devolve a far larger amount of funds from the divisible tax pool to the States. A Press release from the Prime Minister's Office said that “West Bengal will get Rs11,200 crore from the coal blocks that have been auctioned so far”. It is time for Ms Banerjee to work in tandem with the Centre and not seek confrontation at the drop of a hat. Political battles cannot take precedence over people's welfare.