Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday stood behind Munna Bhai MBBS saying the Hindi cine star deserved “calm and peaceful life” after the kind of suffering he had undergone over the years.
In a curious move, Banerjee came out in support of Sanjay Dutt who has been convicted to five years in jail under the Arms Act, saying he had already suffered a lot for the “blunder” he had committed — by keeping a set of lethal weapons during the 1993 Mumbai blasts.
Wishing him a “calm and peaceful life” the Chief Minister said Sanjay reminded her of his father, old friend and late fellow Congress MP Sunil Dutt who had along with her fought continuously against the TADA laws till it was withdrawn.
There were many people from the civil society as also the “film personalities” who were requesting her to do something for Dutt and “see that he does not suffer any more” she wrote in the social networking site Facebook.
“let us pray that Sanjay lives a calm and peaceful life” Banerjee wrote leading many a political pundit to wonder whether her latest comment came as a sequel to her stand backing the Centre on its lankan Tamil policy after DMK pulled the plug on UPA-II.
“I feel that he has already suffered a lot for the blunder he committed earlier” she said reminding how he picked up his career “from complete wreck to unfold his potential.” Remembering her old friendship with the senior Dutt she said had the late actor-turned-politician been alive he would have tried to save his son “any more sufferings.”
Dutt had been convicted for five years for keeping lethal arms and would not have to undergo 3 and a half year in jail as he had already spent 18 months behind bars during the trial period.
“I knew Sunil Dutt ji during my parliament days and we strongly fought against TADA” she wrote adding the concerted fight eventually forced the government to withdraw the Act.
Experts also said Banerjee’s FB comment was part of an exercise to win as many friends as possible in the Congress but also play to the minority gallery in Bengal ahead of the coming panchayat elections or for that matter general elections which she fore saw a few months now.
In a curious yet unrelated development Union Minister Jairam Ramesh on Monday called up senior Trinamool leader and Bengal Panchayat Minister Subroto Mukherjee conveying to him that the Centre had already sent Rs 270 crore to his Department against the State’s demand of Rs 900 crore.