It was exactly 18 years ago on May 20, 1993 that a young firebrand political activist was allegedly manhandled and dragged out of the Writers Building by the then Jyoti Basu government since she supposedly dared to meet the CM without an official appointment. In response she said, “I will be back.” That’s the local lore doing the rounds around the narrow alleys of the city of Kolkata.
On Thursday when a white saree clad Mamata Banerjee drove inside the Raj Bhawan in an easy-to-spot black Hyundai Santro followed by a cavaclade of police cars to take oath for becoming the first non-Left chief minister in 34 years, history had taken a full circle. A drive from Banerjee’s residence in Kalighat in South Kolkata to the legislative assembly was replete with green placards directing drivers to the exact location of the venue.
More than 20,000 cops were deployed to patrol the streets yet it did little to deter her lakhs of supporters who had turned out to give Mamatadi their full support and be part of the 21st centurt ‘Bengal Renaissance’. College students decided to strum their guitars while houswives clapped their hands singing songs to brave the sultry heat. “It was a moment people of Bengal have been waiting for. I never thought I would be able to witness it in my life time. It’s a Bengal renaissance,” said 77-year old retired school teacher Nachiketa Adhikari who was only 44 when the Left under Basu stormed the Writers Building.
The icing on the cake for both the supporters as well as the journalists came when Mamatadi quitely walked out of the South West gate of Raj Bhawan to walk the short 500 metre distance to the Writers Building. In the process she had to not only deal with the people swarming around her but had to politely request her supporters from falling to her feet. The message for ‘paribartan’ that she relentlessly delivered in her public rallies over the last one-year had borne fruit for the lady who many believe had single handedly brought the Left front’s rule to an end.
It was also easy to notice Banerjee’s clear intention to shed her alleged ‘anti-industry’ image. Hence marquee industrialists were invited for the swearing-in ceremony. The list included ITC chairman YC Deveshwar — who darted in and out because of ITC’s board meeting — to RPG vice-chairman Sanjiv Goenka, Ambuja Realty Chairman Harsh Neotia, Emami Group founder and chairman RS Goenka, Haldia Petrochemicals chairman Purnendu Chatterjee attended Mamata’s swearing-in.
The Tata Group was represented by Sandipan Chakraborty, MD, Tata Ryerson. After the Singur debacle, Chakraborty has been seen at railway functions and is known to be the bridge between TMC and the Tatas. Keventer Group chairman M K Jalan said now that Bengal had voted for change, the new government should give priority to the development of the state, not the party. Almost all the industrialists FE spoke to said the government?s delivery system has to be pro-active and user-friendly. As Jalan pointed out, “in a competitive environment, West Bengal will keep losing out to other states if we don’t have a user-friendly system of delivery.”
Neotia said clearances should be speeded up and a minimum rule of law set up, “investments will follow”. Reminding Mamata that lessons needed to be learnt from 34 years of Left rule, Jalan said: “The political virus of ‘cadreism’ at every level of daily life has to be terminated.” Assocham president Dilip Modi wrote to Mamata assuring her of cooperation in every field.