Mamata regime must keep aside petty politics
] Fighting political battles with rivals is a legitimate exercise in a free democracy. Such contests also keep the spirit of federalism alive when the Governments at the Centre and in a State demonstrate difference of opinion. But thesis and anti-thesis must lead to a synthesis and not degenerate into petty conflicts. Unfortunately, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee does not appear to be a student of this strand of thought, and she is determined to place obstacles in various schemes the Modi Government has announced and which are in various stages of implementation. A good deal of the successful execution rests on the support of States where these projects are located, and the engineering of friction with an aim to either delay or derail is not in national interest — and certainly not in the interests of the State concerned.
The West Bengal Chief Minister has of late developed a kind of maniacal dislike for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Government, and the bias has driven her to take rather small-minded measures merely to show who the boss is in the State. There are reports that the Centre's ambitious Namami Gange project has been stalled in West Bengal because Banerjee has not been attending meetings the Union Ministry of Water Resources regularly convenes to discuss the cleaning of the Ganga river. Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti, who is also in charge of the Clean Ganga campaign and has made it her life's mission to de-pollute the iconic river which is the country's lifeline, is at her wit's end. Three schemes have been identified in the State under the overarching project, and all three have been suffering for want of support from the Banerjee regime. The State Government is clearly uncooperative even on a national issue such as this, as not only has she not been attending the meetings but also not deputing anybody to do so.
Reports have it that the State regime has refused to cooperate with the Modi Government's plan to link the Teesta-Manas-Ganga-Sankosh rivers, that aims to tackle multiple problems of irrigation, potable water availability and flood control. The inter-linking, experts have pointed out, would benefit not just West Bengal but also Assam and Bihar. It may be that the State regime has some legitimate concerns, but these issues are best dealt with through dialogue. In this case, however, the Banerjee Government, clearly dictated by a prejudiced mindset, has refused to see reason on the pretext that the linking would harm the State's interests. It is generally easy for a regional leader to invoke regional sentiments to justify their obduracy, because whipping up parochial passions is a good but also dangerous way to obfuscate the larger benefits. National interest should dominate petty political considerations. If Mamata Banerjee continues with her conflict, the Teesta water accord with Bangladesh too will be further delayed. This is a negative in the India-Bangladesh bilateral.