Her frequent claims of phenomenal success in bringing back to life West Bengal’s moribund industrial sector notwithstanding Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday dropped her Industry Minister Partho Chatterjee shifting the “workload” on the shoulders of Finance Minister Amit Mitra.
In reaction Chatterjee once the Chief Minister’s man on Friday said that people would finally evaluate his performance as the Industry Minister before hurriedly adding “it is the Chief Minister’s prerogative and she must have effected the change for the sake of industry.”
Industry would be looked after by Amit Mitra in addition to Finance, Banerjee said insisting the step was taken in order “to reduce workload” on Chatterjee who was left with lesser Departments of Information Technology and Parliamentary Affairs. Chatterjee immediately sent his resignation as the Chairman of West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation and Haldia Petrochemicals.
Dr Amit Mitra who had drawn accolades for hiking the State’s tax revenue proceeds by introducing certain additional taxes would now have to walk the tightrope by making a balance between the Government’s “no land acquisition policy” without owners’ consent and the Industrialists’ repeated claim for land, experts from the Chambers of commerce said.
Banerjee also introduced two new faces in her Cabinet in the form of Dr Shashi Panja the daughter-in-law of former Union Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Ajit Panja and Binay Burman a North Bengal MlA. The latter came in the place of “indisposed” Forest Minister Hiten Burman. Another ailing Minister Dr Sudarshan Ghoshdastidar was relieved from his charges.
Other Ministers whose departments were changed Rachpal Singh, Swapan Debnath, Becharam Manna etal. Among them Manna the MlA from Singur got a promotion with an additional Ministry.
The Thursday’s development came in the wake of an evaluation meeting a few days ago when the Chief Minister sounded reprimanded a few Minister for their below par performance.
The ministerial reshuffle was interpreted by the Congress as another “gimmick” before the elections. Congress leader Nirbed Roy said it was another attempt by her to dissociate herself from the bad name her Government had earned in the past two-and-a-half years.