Tale of two words it is - Class and Crass! Just swap the "L" with an "R" and you are falling a steep fall. And that's exactly the steep fall West Bengal is experiencing in the last six years under the leadership of the Honourable Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee, and her party Trinamool Congress, which is shaking up and uprooting the state's rich, classy history, tradition and values. This is being done at the Trinamool ("Grassroot" - ironically, that's what Trinamool means) level, making it look so crass in every sense of the term. Be it her language, her manner of governance (or lack of it), her deplorable disregard and disrespect of the federal structure of our country, incessant insults to the coveted institutions of the nation, even if that is our army that is so diligently putting its best foot forward during testing times, verbal assaults on dignitaries holding constitutional positions with words and language right out of her arsenal of uncouthness...
While the list is unending, we watch in utter disbelief as the Chief Minister plays Nero when singing praises of "
Shonar Bangla" under her "leadership" at a college function (one that she could have easily postponed) while the state burns in communal disharmony. Many would agree that it was an inevitability that loomed large on Bengal given Mamata
didi's signature vote bank Politics of Appeasement that spelled doom with its essence of "Divide and Rule". There is no denying that the Arithmetic of Majority and Minority have long ruled the dynamics of polls and no political party can claim spotlessness, at least in terms of the allegations thrown in by the opposition, but seldom has that been so in-your-face, rampant and shamelessly blatant as here, where we see an Honourable Chief Minister (I don't think there could be anything inappropriate in mentioning that she is a Hindu by religion) herself choosing to be the poster girl, in life-size cutouts, posing as one offering
Namaz.
Now, is there anything wrong in that? No, I would say, given that respect for your own religion is built on respect showered on other religions, especially in a country that is secular from its inception. But then, should you equate that with the acts and deeds of the Chief Minister in appeasing the Muslim community, it surely appears not only to be criminally deceitful but a blemish on the sensibilities of a state that has long experienced the peaceful coexistence of Hindus and Muslims as harmoniously as we have embraced and celebrated the music and poetry of Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam in the same breath - literally.
The Facebook post that is alleged to have triggered the riot is not only deplorable, putting the very term "social" media under a serious scanner, but it also demands stern legal action against the culprit, and that in itself highlights how callous the administration or intelligence of Mamata Banerjee is to not foresee the magnitude of the communal unrest it might cause when even the lame eyes of a commoner sensed that from the initial reactions. The initial reactions from the minority community to the utterly distasteful post are normal, but what's abysmally abnormal is Mamata's "misuse" of her police force in not only deliberately keeping them inactive, but reducing them to mute spectators as fires lit up. A fact-check will reveal that police vehicles were burnt in retaliation to police inaction to rioters that belonged to the minority community and the subsequent "'selective" atrocities towards the majority.
While the local media remained 'happily' gagged for more than 24 hours, what did the Honourable Chief Minister do? Call an official press conference at her headquarters to "Select-ively and Elect-ively" cry about her bruised ego that was "hurt" by alleged "threatening" by His Excellency, the Governor of West Bengal. The language was crass, the content unprecedented, and the attempt dirty to say the least because it was not hard to understand that she held that press conference deliberately to take the limelight away from "Burning Basirhat" when the national media had just started to take serious note of the dangerous situation on "Ground Zero".
There are no concrete reports of any arrests or detention inspite of several names, including a TMC MLA and other leaders from the area, repeatedly cropping up. It goes beyond saying that the damage and arson notwithstanding, no person/persons who were part of the destructive mob were identified or arrested because that would dent the sentiments of
Didi's Minority Vote Bank. After all, the truth is that it was indeed the minority community that took law into their own hands (or we have reason to believe that they were
allowed to take the law into their own hands) after the Facebook post (that was indeed highly objectionable and demands strongest action) went viral. However, in the era of social media, the term "viral" assumes a very definite significance. It means that the administration were not only aware of the spreading fire but also had enough time to take precautionary measures given the nature of the post - in other words, the retaliation by the minority community was not an accident. The fire was brewing and the police allegedly took a step back allowing the Minority Mob to "appease" themselves with their obvious urge for revenge.
Interestingly, the West Bengal Police (from their official Twitter account), resorted to blaming the media for indulging in false propaganda and spreading fake stories about riots when, according to them, everything was normal and under control on the ground. To everyone's relief, the initial dust has settled since then, though there isn't any clear picture that has been made available by the West Bengal administration to assure everyone as to whether the fire has been completely doused or is still simmering with renewed vigour while news of incidents fly in from different parts of the state.
From its inception in 2011, the Trinamool government under Mamata Banerjee has functioned like a party office, bringing to the party and partying with anti-social elements both from the majority and minority factions of society and their unholy "Syndicate". With the infamous Rose Valley, Sarada, Narada scams, Trinamool leaders have long proven that "absolute power corrupts absolutely".
It now remains to be seen if absolutely corrupted minds and sensibilities have reached a point of no return, or if they will stand
by the very people of Bengal and for the people of Bengal, irrespective of their political affiliations, religion, vote banks, with the realisation (even if that happens to dawn grossly late) that the power that rendered them corrupt is the Borrowed Power
of the people of Bengal.
The poison Mamata spewed all over Bengal by resorting to her dangerous politics of appeasement will require a timely dose of anti-venom and that reminds me of a line from the Holy book "Hadith" which very aptly defines Time. "
La tasabuddara, Woo Wallahoo" Hadith says, which means, "Time is God; Don't waste Time".
I am aware that there are still many who would argue that
Didi shall pass the test of time and is here to stay. Well, to the believers, may I humbly submit that "Time is indeed running away faster than it may seem - believe me, at this rate, D-day isn't far - when time shall outrun
Didi".
(Babul Supriyo is a renowned Bollywood singer-turned-politician and is the Union Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.)Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.