Winds of change have started blowing in West Bengal

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In Marxism, religion does not mix with politics. Remember the raging debate that was triggered in 2006 when the then minister for sports and CPM leader Subhash Chakraborty paid obeisance to Goddess Kali at Tarapith?

But ironically the leftist aversion to religion did not stop the CPM from using Durga Puja festivities to reach out to the people of the state. It was customary for the party to set up stalls around Puja pandals for the purpose. Over the years, the number of such stalls crossed the 100-mark in Kolkata and touched 1,000 across West Bengal. However, the picture was very different this year. In the CPM stronghold of Barasat West, the regional committee of the party put up a stall and duly inaugurated it on Saptami, the first day of Durga Puja. But it remained shut for the entire duration of the festivities. Local CPM leaders cited lack of manpower for this state of affairs.

And it wasn't just Barasat where this happened. In various other towns of
Bengal such in Durgapur, Asansol, Barrackpur and Siliguri CPM stalls selling Marxist literature were conspicuous by their absence.

They were replaced by stalls named after Jaago Bangla (Arise Bengal), the mouthpiece of the Trinamool Congress. According to Trinamool functionaries officials, “This year over 100 Jago Bangla stalls were put up in the city and many other parts of the state.” Twenty-three books written by Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee sold like hot cakes from these stalls, as did six to seven monographs on the Singur-Nandigram movements.

Mamata is losing no opportunity to appeal to the devout in Bengal. She is everywhere, demonstrating unfailing religious fervour. From offering namaaz during Eid to ribbon cutting at Durga Puja pandals, she has been in overdrive, here eyes set firmly on next year's Assembly polls.

In comparison with 12 Durga Puja inauguration requests after the 2004 Lok Sabha elections (Mamata was the single Trinamool MP in Lok Sabha back then) this year more than 300 puja organisers requested her presence in puja mandaps in different parts of Bengal.

It’s not that CPM was total casual about the winds of change. Party leaders did their utmost to grasp the meaning of the new phenomenon that is unfolding in Bengal and do something reversing the trend. From state party secretary Biman Bose to state health minister Suryakanta Misra, almost all the topmost party leaders contributed articles to the Puja specials of their party mouthpieces. But On Bijoya Dashami, in Barrackpur, revellers used green gulaal instead of the traditional red. A sign of things to come?

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WEST BENGAL CORRUPTION: Another scam rattles left

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CPM forces Hooghly Zilla Parishad chief to resign

The government-run Post Graduate Medical College SSKM Hospital in West Bengal is grabbing headlines for the wrong reason ' Rs 11 crore scam. This is not a one-off incident in the Left-ruled state. Since the scam was busted many heads have been rolled. The first to go was CPM's district secretariat member. The Hooghly Zilla Parishad chief, Asit Patra, was punished for his direct involvement in the multi-crore health scam.

Two weeks before the scam surfaced in the media, he was forced to resign. Patra has been accused of allegedly siphoning off Rs 4 crore in the name of purchasing medicines in collaborations with some contractors. Official sources say Patra even used his official letterhead for this purpose. Chief Medical Officer of Health, Hooghly district, Bhusan Chakraborty, blew the whistle. Following which, Minister-in-Charge for Health Surjyakanta Mishra, who is also a CPM state secretariat member, ordered a probe and Patra was forced to resign.

The probe team found out that huge quantity of bandage and antiseptic lotions were purchased instead of medicines. A top Zilla Parishad source told TSI: 'Nothing was purchased. In fact the money has just changed hands showing old stock as newly purchased.'

Defending himself, disgraced 61-year-old Patra said: 'No corruption case has been slapped on me. The investigators found some irregularities in purchase of stuff. I tendered resignation owing moral responsibilities'. But, senior party leaders said: 'He was sacked.' Patra has been also accused of handling the funds without informing the government. Minister for Rural Development Department Anisur Rahaman admitted: 'Zilla Parishad chief is not entitled to handle funds. He can only make decision.' Shockingly, soon after Patra was forced to quit the Zilla Parishad post, the whistle blower Chakraborty was also transferred. Besides, the Accounts Officer of the health department, who is also the Accounts Officer of the Zilla Parishad, has been suspended and FIR has been lodged against him. However, Patra's name is missing from it. District Trinamool Congress president Tapan Dasgupta said: 'How was he holding both the posts? The CPM leaders and government must be aware of it.'

Demanding a CBI probe, he told TSI: 'There is a huge crisis of medicines in all hospitals at all levels. High-profile CPM leaders are wasting public money. Why is Patra name not mentioned in the FIR or arrested?'

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