Mamata Bannerjee's Challenge of Change

Eighteen years ago she was dragged from the corridor by a tuft of hair, it was January 7, 1993 but the same corridor on May 20, 2011 received her with salute and joined in awed obeisance. Yesterday's politics is today's history, Writers' Building – the secretariat of West Bengal government watched history but this time it is an exception, she is none but Mamata Banerjee whom masses accepted as their chief minister , she took oath on May 20, 2011 as the first women chief minister of the state.

After oath taking ceremony at Raj Bhavan (Governor's House) Mamata Banerjee walked about a kilometre to Writers' trailed by a sea of supporters in 34 minutes crossed over Left Front's unchallenged rule of 34 years.

In the swearing-in ceremony – three thousand nine hundred and twenty two were witnessed and these invitees comprised from all walks of life. Former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and his senior party colleagues Biman Bose and Asim Dasgupta graced the occasion and shown a real courtesy as the state watched lack of even minimum courtesy those prevails in the democratic system. Mamata Banerjee in her 'credit' had boycotted the swearing-in ceremonies of Left Front's sixth and seventh terms in 2001 and 2006 , she had also instructed her party MLAs and office – bearers to boycott all events of the state government and even abstained from attending on debate or any prime discussion held in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly.

The movement against acquiring of land at Singur and Nandigram gave her new berth and after sitting at CM's seat at 5pm, she met the first cabinet meeting and first decision of the cabinet meeting to return 400 acres of land to unwilling farmers at Singur. After cabinet meeting she met press and said ' I have instructed the department to prepare the papers for this, if Tatababu wants, he can set up his factory on the balance 600 acres , otherwise we will see how to go about it'. This was the core decision she announced as land acquisition movement propelled her to power.

Asper provisions of Land Acquisition Act, 1894 by which still lands are acquired by government and once land is acquired, unable to return. The legal experts are doubt until this act are either revoked or suitably amended for a smooth passage therein for return of acquired land. Moreover, few complications were encircled in connection to the return of these 400 acres of land to the farmers; such type of complicated legal matters takes years to get resolved. Those farmers did not accept payment, many of them have small patches of land scattered over the Tata's Singur small car project site, how the fragmented patches could be returned, in some patches sheds already taken shape and presumably the farmers would not be agreed to have on any random plot. Those who owned land beside the National Expressway, they would never accept with plots away from the highway and in the interiors for obvious reasons of very high marginal difference of value of land. Any case, unwilling farmers have faith on Mamata Banerjee and believe that she would settle the issue with full protection of their interest. In her first press meet she has also sought to repay her debt to the minority community by announcing development package for them , to set up review committee to scrutinise cases of political prisoners for their release, special package for Maoist – infested 'Jangalmahal', drive to recover illegal arms, expert committee to suggest measures on harnessing flood water.

Mamata Team: Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) , a leading NGO conducted a survey on West Bengal Legislative Assembly election – 2011 and they have found 69 MLAs out of her Trinamul Congress's 82 MLAs have criminal records such as murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping etc. So far she has inducted into her cabinet – 31 cabinet rank ministers from her party and two from Indian National Congress and four state ministers from her party, Subrata Mukherjee, the only minister having previous experience and the rest 36 ministers are fresher.

Mamata Banerjee will have three years before facing its first test, the Indian Parliament (Lok Sobha) election of 2014 and finally again in state Legislative Assembly election of 2016. The CPIM led Left Front will also have opportunity to recover lost ground. Her huge victory on her several promises including not go for forcible land acquisition to set up either industry or railway line, it would be main challenge of change. Whether by embracing 'Paribartan' (change) the vast people of West Bengal have jumped from the frying pan into fire, the future will determine same. History is very cruel, it does not spare any.

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Mamata Bannerjee's Challenge of Change

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