Calcutta, June 19: The CPM today hauled up its ministers and asked them to try and reassert the image of a “do-it-now” government in a desperate bid to stem the slide in its electoral fortunes.

An “upset” party brass asked all the ministers to expedite work in the hope of making a turnaround before the Assembly elections.

The chief minister, who attended the meeting, reminded his colleagues that they had very little time left, betraying concerns about his party’s prospects in the polls scheduled for May 2011. “You don’t have much time left, maybe nine or 10 months. Be prompt…. Expedite implementation of pending projects, particularly those for the rural poor and minorities, who have moved away from us. We must restore this vote bank. Funds will not be a constraint. If you have a new project, send it to me fast,” Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was quoted as saying.

CPM state secretary Biman Bose stressed the importance of the personal conduct of ministers. “(They) should have a people-friendly image. They shouldn’t be doing or saying things that people will dislike,” Bose is learnt to have said.

According to a source, the CPM state secretary was trying to point a finger at some ministers who have a “high-flying lifestyle” and travel in expensive cars.

Bose apparently also expressed resentment over “lack of co-ordination among minist- ers”, saying it had affected development work. “In land acquisition, setting up industries, issuing below-poverty-line cards or streamlining the public distribution system, where several departments are involved, co-ordination is a must. Fix a six-month target and don’t be bureaucrat-dependent,” Bose was quoted as saying.

“I am told some ministers don’t attend office regularly, leading to accumulation of files,” he added.

The CPM ministers submitted reports on their departments’ performance.

According to a state committee member, the leadership “wasn’t happy” with the ministers’ overall performance as not more than 30 per cent of the targeted work had been done in the past six months. “Bimanda was visibly peeved at their performance. He said the ministers had been asked to complete at least 50 per cent of their work but they couldn’t. Today, he asked them to dwell on schemes the people would benefit from,” the leader said.

For instance, Paschimanchal affairs minister Sushanta Ghosh was to have completed much of the work for minor irrigation, like sinking tube wells, in West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia districts. Little has been done. He blamed the “Maoist menace” for this but was reprimanded by the party and told that he should have factored that in at the beginning and worked around it.

Land and land reforms minister Abdur Rezzak Mollah and irrigation minister Subhas Naskar were hauled up for not being able to acquire land for construction of embankments even a year after cyclone Aila. They said villagers were unwilling to part with their land, especially since much of the area was under Trinamul control.

Panchayat minister Anisur Rahman was asked why he had been unable to publish the revised BPL list.

“The Opposition didn’t co-operate,” a minister told the meeting.

Party pill

Instructions to CPM ministers

Speed up pending projects
Send new plans to CM
Be people-friendly
Shun high-flying lifestyle
Co-ordinate with colleagues
Attend office regularly