Mamata gets Mahasweta Devi support
In what must have come as music to chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s ears, well-known writer Mahasweta Devi on Saturday said that the people of Bengal had full faith in the chief minister and they were optimistic that she would fulfil all their aspirations.
“We have found Mamata after a wait of 34 years and I am confident that she will do all the work that has not been done in 34 years of Left Front rule,“ she said.
Ms Devi was speaking at the Maati Utsav at Panagarh near Durgapur. This was the first time that the Magsaysay Award winning author and social activist shared a public platform with Ms Banerjee after almost 20 months.
On the stage, the chief minister made a painting to help the poor bauls (folk singers). “I will donate the sale proceeds of these paintings for helping poor baul singers who have been neglected over the years,” she added.
Famour painters Suvaprasanna and Jogen Chowdhury also made paintings on the occasion. Ms Banerjee announced that she would use the services of bauls in government campaigns in the districts.
Octogenarian writer Mahasweta Devi was possibly the most famous face among the pro-change culture clan of Bengal which had vigorously campaigned for the ouster of the CPI(M) and victory of the Trinamul Congress in the last Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. However, soon after Ms Banerjee assumed power, her relations with Ms Devi went sour when the latter started criticising her policy decisions and style of functioning. The relations reached an all-time low when Ms Devi called Ms Banerjee’s government fascist after it banned a rally of some human rights organisation in the city in November 2011.
Many other members of the culture clan which had once whole-heartedly worked to bring her to power started voicing their disillusionment with her. The list included names like Sunanda Sanyal and Samir Aich.
Voices of discontent have been rising among many other intellectuals against the chief minister’s style of functioning and some of her statements. At such a critical juncture, Ms Devi’s return to the Mamata camp and her generous plaudits have certainly come as a shot in the arm for the chief minister.
On Saturday, Ms Devi read out a list of the Mamata Banerjee government’ successes, including the digging up of 42,000 ponds, affiliation to 10,000 madrasas, distribution of kisan credit cards among 40 lakh poor farmers.
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