NEWSLINKS
US EDITION
COLUMNISTS
DIARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

Search Rediff

Rediff Shopping

Shop & gift from thousands of products!   Books     Music       Apparel   Jewellery   Flowers   More..      Safe Shopping

'Fernandes is not in the right frame of mind'

Rifat Jawaid in Midnapore

'I have never come across a more grievous situation in my entire political career than what I was witness to in Midnapore, Bankura and Birbhoom. My kurta was completely soaked with the tears of the victims who had to pay a heavy price for showing sympathy to the Trinamul Congress.' So said Defence Minister George Fernandes recently.

His report on the law and order situation in Bengal provoked Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani to send Chief Minister Jyoti Basu a letter, asking him to explain the Left Front government's position on the issue. Basu sent back a hard-hitting rebuttal to Advani.

Dissatisfied with the octogenarian Marxist's explanation, Advani sent Basu another letter. To which, Basu asked the home minister to rein in 'his Cabinet colleague from West Bengal' (read Trinamul leader and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee) who he claimed was responsible for creating a terror-like-situation in a few districts of Bengal.

Midnapore has been in the media glare for sometime because of the rise in political clashes between supporters of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist and the Trinamul Congress. Mamata wants the Centre to invoke Article 355 followed by imposition of President's rule in Bengal, citing atrocities against minorities, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in Midnapore, Bankura and Birbhoom districts. Fernandes's factfinding visit to the state has paved the way for a serious discussion on the use of Article 356 for Bengal.

This correspondent attempted to visit all the areas which the defence minister toured. Fernandes says he toured Bankura and Midnapore districts. But Midnapore Police Superintendent Gaurav Dutta says the minister could barely visit areas, "which were disturbed in the past."

Said Dutta, "He visited Shyamsundarpur in Keshpur, stayed there for about seven minutes before having a brief conversation with two small gatherings in Garbeta. He did not meet the district administration. Though I asked to meet him, he did not oblige me."

"Both the district magistrate and myself," Dutta continued, "wanted to present our version on the political clashes in Midnapore to the minister, but, in his prudence, he thought otherwise."

One reason why Fernandes may have avoided an encounter with Dutta could be because Trinamul leaders have protested against the police's partisan role in the clashes. The SP brushes aside allegations of partisan conduct. In response to the Trinamul's charges that he is a mere puppet in Marxist hands, Dutta says a bureaucrat can never go against the wishes of the ruling party. "Let Mamata occupy the corridors of Writers Building, I will show my loyalty to her," he says.

This correspondent then travelled to Garbeta where Fernandes claimed a woman was paraded naked by CPI-M goons. It was here that Fernandes reportedly met with over a dozen rape victims. Garbeta is 60 km away from Midnapore town. Local Trinamul leaders summoned before me a married woman, whom CPI-M cadres allegedly raped three months ago.

However, Fernandes did not meet her, his convoy having taken a U-turn from Garbeta. The woman said there were rape victims in the village "who could not narrate their heartrending stories to the minister."

In Shyamsundarpur, people appeared angry with Fernandes's call for President's rule in the state. Said Shamsad, owner of a tea shop, "There cannot be a more unfortunate happening for India than to have George Fernandes as defence minister. If he thinks that Article 356 should be invoked in Keshpur because the area is reeling under gory battles, then I must say he is not in the right frame of mind. Indeed, we were not safe earlier. But it was three months ago. Today, you can see how we are awake till 11 at night. Wait for another hour; you will see women and children coming out of video halls. Will you dare go for a night show even in Calcutta, if the situation is so bad that a senior minister suggests President's rule?"

But Trinamul leaders see nothing wrong in Fernandes's report that described the law and order situation in Bengal as worse than even Bihar. According to them, the bloody clashes in Bihar are the fallout of the rivalry between the Maoist Coordination Centre and the Bhumihar army, the Ranvir Sena; neither group enjoys government patronage. In Bengal, they allege, the ruling party is directly involved in the supply of illegal arms and ammunition in order for the killings of Trinamul workers.

Meanwhile, the arrival of VIPs in Midnapore continues. After Fernandes, it is Bharatiya Janata Party president Bangaru Laxman's turn to assess the situation. Scheduled to visit Midnapore next month are Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Home Minister Advani.

RELATED REPORT:
Bangaru Laxman for Article 356 in Bengal

EARLIER REPORTS:
CPI-M warns central government
Centre will not act in a hurry in Bengal
Why Mamata had a change of heart
Basu's reply under examination: Advani
Basu's reply to Advani delayed
Mamata awaits Vajpayee's return
West Bengal worse than Bihar: Fernandes
Trinamul may part ways with NDA
Article 356 cannot be resorted to in Bengal: Jyoti Basu

Back to top

Tell us what you think of this report