Mamata must do right by Sandeshkhali

The incidents in Sandeshkhali and the protests there are a throwback to the past in Bengal. Protests in Singur and Nandigram in 2007-8 against the well-entrenched CPM government over land acquisition are part of the state’s political memory. Mamata Banerjee had led the protests that led to the landslide victory for the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and ended 34 years of uninterrupted CPM-led Left Front rule in the state. The TMC had promised poriborton (change), including in the state’s political culture.

The ongoing protests at Sandeshkhali and the response of the TMC government suggest that little has changed. The cast and the characters have changed but the plot remains much the same. 

Women have taken to the streets, demanding the arrest of TMC strongman Shahjahan Sheikh and his aides. Allegations of sexual exploitation, land-grabbing, extortion, and forcing people to work without wages have been levelled against them. Violent protests have continued for days. Sheikh is absconding.

He has been on the run since the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided his premises in January in connection with a ration scam. His supporters had attacked the ED officials then. Some of his aides have now been arrested but that was after the protests hit the headlines. The state police has been late to act on the charges and the government is seen to have protected the accused persons. On Saturday, gang-rape charges were finally filed against TMC leaders named by Sandeshkhali women.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been blaming the Opposition parties, mainly the BJP, for fomenting trouble. But she was wrong to dismiss the whole affair as a mountain being made out of a molehill. Opposition parties will make use of any incident which shows the government in a poor light. It is for the government to ensure that law and order is maintained and justice is done. The BJP has big political and electoral ambitions in the state and it will put all its resources and tricks in play as Lok Sabha elections are only weeks away.

Governor C V Ananda Bose and agencies like the National Women’s Commission are all in the field against the state government. There is politicisation of the incident, but it was the TMC government’s failure to take action in time that led to the aggravation of the situation. This may yet be the toughest challenge to Mamata Banerjee’s reputation and it comes too close to the Lok Sabha elections. She can withstand it only by doing right by the people of Sandeshkhali. Dismissal of all protests as part of “Opposition agenda” will not carry conviction.