Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wants to learn from her mistakes and move on. The Chief Minister, who has been recuperating at her home after being discharged from a South Kolkata hospital where she was admitted after returning from Delhi, on Monday communicated her strong resolve to Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien who went to wish her on the Bengal New Year’s Day: Poila Baisakh (First of Vaisakh).
Quoting Banerjee, the Trinamool MP said that “in the past two years there has been a lot of developmental works in the State in the course of which we may have committed some mistakes. But we will learn from our mistakes.”
Deliberating on the Presidency attack, the Trinamool MP said that the Chief Minister had reiterated that the Presidency University was centre of excellence and would continue to remain so. After coming to power Banerjee had dreamt of restoring the world class academic centre to its lost glory and had constituted a mentor group, led by the likes of Amartya Sen, Sugato Basu et al.
“let me convey it to you on behalf of the Chief Minister that Presidency will continue to remain a centre for academics,” O’Brien said warning those found guilty of vandalising the university would be taken to task. He reminded how “those six-seven people have been arrested by the police in the Presidency case”.
The university was vandalised by a group of Trinamool Congress workers who were protesting the heckling of State Finance Minister Amit Mitra in Delhi by the CPI(M) supporters.
Notwithstanding O’Brien’s claim, the left leadership continued to complain that the big fishes involved in the Presidency episode like Tapas Basu, a councilor and husband of Deputy Speaker Sonali Guha, were being shielded by the police.
However, the Trinamool leaders argued that the Government had taken action in the Presidency case but no action had been taken by the Delhi Police against the CPI(M) cadre who were involved in the heckling of Banerjee and Mitra in Delhi.
Regardless of the Trinamool’s claim of learning from its mistakes, the CPI(M) leadership showed how attacks were being carried out in the State against the Opposition.
“Thousands of party offices and houses have been ransacked and burnt down in the State in the past three days and the police are not only sitting idle during these attacks but also implicating our men in false charges,” said senior CPI(M) leader and former MP Sujan Chakrabarty.
Meanwhile, committing yet another ‘mistake’ Trinamool MP Kalyan Banerjee on Monday warned the left Front of dire consequences if there was another attack on Banerjee.
“We will break your hand if you dare to attack Mamata Banerjee who is like our mother,” Kalyan Banerjee, a senior counsel, said and warned “both Biman Bose (left Front chairman) and Suryakanto Mishra (Opposition leader) would be tonsured and thrown out of Bengal if they dare to incite people against the Trinamool Congress.”
The left on the other hand alleged Opposition party offices had been attacked, burnt down or even forcibly occupied by the Trinamool goons in large parts of the State.
“Not a single district or block is spared. There is a scene of devastation all around,” Sujan Chakrabarty said, adding the CPI(M) had borne the brunt of Trinamool attack in North 24 Parganas, Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri, Bankura, Burwdan, Nadia, South 24 Parganas. “Not only the CPI(M) but also the Congress and the BJP were being attacked by the ruling party,” he maintained.