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Jairam Ramesh during his trip to Purulia on Wednesday. Picture by Mita Roy
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Calcutta, Jan. 25: Union minister Jairam Ramesh today said development work could not be the prerogative of any one political party, adding that the Congress, which “is the country’s A-team” could not be told “jao, ab phuto (now, just go)”.
Accepting that a “lot of changes” have come in Bengal since the Congress-Trinamul government came to power, the Union rural development minister told a media conference at state Congress headquarters Bidhan Bhavan that this change was “not the monopoly” of any particular party in a coalition government.
Without naming Trinamul, whose chief Mamata Banerjee has recently steered clear of criticising the Congress after days of bickering over issues such as paddy prices, renaming of Indira Bhavan and a cabinet shuffle leaving ministers of the ally with reduced powers, Ramesh said: “The time is ripe in Bengal for bold political activity and a developmental thrust. But all political parties should take part in such activity.
“After my three-day Bengal trip, I have learnt an important lesson. Political activity cannot be exclusionary. One form of tyranny cannot be replaced by another form of tyranny. It cannot happen that political activity will be done by one party only.’’
“All political parties, be it the Trinamul Congress, the Congress or the CPM, should have equal opportunity to develop the state,’’ he added.
Asked if he felt the new government had brought about a change in Bengal, Ramesh said: “I see change. A lot of changes have taken place in the past few months and the Congress is a part of it. Change cannot be a monopoly… we are part of the coalition… we have much to contribute.”
Possibly referring to Mamata’s statement at Writers’ Buildings on January 7 that the Congress could leave the government, Ramesh said: “We had witnessed a 34-year misrule during Left governance. But now, we have a role to play in the government. You just can’t say, jao, ab phuto.’’
Asked about Trinamul’s oft-repeated allegation that the Congress was the CPM’s “B-team”, the Union minister said: “The Congress is the country’s A-team, with a presence in every village. We must respect the dharma of coalition. My presence in Bengal is for the people and the government. It has nothing to do with the strengthening of the CPM as alleged.”
Anticipating questions from reporters if he had avoided meeting the chief minister during his trip, Ramesh said: “I know you all will be asking why I didn’t meet the chief minister. She was in Manipur and I was travelling in Purulia and Bankura. But we talked… yesterday and today. She said, ‘chesta korbo’ (will try to meet you). I also said, ‘chesta korbo’. She said 34 years of misrule cannot be changed overnight and that we should have patience.’’
The Congress leader, who left for Delhi tonight, sounded cautious when asked if his party would criticise the government’s policies if they were faulty. “Legitimate political activity cannot take the backseat. But that will happen without hurting the government.’’
Ramesh said Bengal’s performance in implementing the Centre’s 100-day rural job scheme was “below that of Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan” but added that he was “hopeful”. “There’s a new minister (Subrata Mukherjee)... a new secretary (Sourav Das). Money is not a constraint. It is the implementation that matters.’’
On November 30, Ramesh had written to the chief minister mentioning that the state panchayat ministry was yet to utilise Rs 600 crore of the Rs 1,600 crore given to it under the job scheme. Till December 30, the state had provided only 19 days’ work.
Told about Ramesh’s comments on coalition government, a Trinamul general secretary said tonight: “We are aware of our responsibilities. Our leader knows how to run a coalition government. We don’t need to take advice from others.”
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