Mixed reaction from Mamata’s home state

Diganta Guha, Kolkata

Her supporters are happy, critics would write it off as a populist budget (with the elections in mind) and experts express caution. The response to the Railway Budget in West Bengal is mixed. Expectations were sky high from Bengal’s very own Mamata Banerjee, the Railway Minister. Quiteexpectedly, Banerjee has kept her home state’s interest in mind though as a journalist would put it, “Bengal has 33% mention in the budget as against 70% in her last Railway budget.”

Experts question the practicality of her plans. As corporate honcho, Sujit Poddar points out, “If she is not able to fulfill her promises, it might boomerang on her.” Among the various measures that can benefit the state, the noteworthy ones include: introduction of four non-stop trains (out of 12 in India), special monthly tickets worth Rs 25 for people whose income does not exceed Rs 1500 which would enable them to travel up to 100 km, the extension of the Ludhiana-Patna freight corridor to Dankuni, modernisation of five stations (Kolkata, Howrah, Sealdah, Majerhat and New Jalpaiguri) among 50 in the country, taking over the wagon units of the Burn Standard Company, extending the Metro connection, giving MST facilities to students of Madrasas and students in Kolkata for Kolkata Metro too, setting up of a new factory at Kanchrapara-Halisahar for rail coaches and others. Special trains for ladies at peak hours and AC trains for the youth are also part of her plan.

While daily commuters are elated at the initiatives conceived by Banerjee, industrialists are yet to fathom what she is actually targeting at. Says Aditya Aggarwal, director Emami Group of Companies, “We will have to wait and watch. So far as the monthly scheme of Rs 25 is concerned, I don’t know how many people would be benefited out of it.” The senior scribe adds, “There will a beeline in front of MPs and MLAs’ offices to get certificates. This is hilarious. There will be misuse of this scheme.”

Political circles are clearly divided over the budget. While Banerjee’s own party men are delighted, hailing her as the most dedicated Railway Minister ever, “who has dedicated her life to the cause of the people,” on the other hand, her rivals (read the CPI (M)) would simply scoff at the budget terming it as one aimed at coming to power. “Overall, we were expecting that she would give solutions to the problems the railway is confronted with. But this budget lacks innovation,” says CPI (M), MP from Bankura, West Bengal, Basudev Acharya. He also questions the practicality of her plan to increase the number of trains not just in West Bengal but in the whole country. “Where will the tracks for 57 new trains come from?” asks a senior journalist. Acharya adds, “There is no mention of some routes, which immediately need to be looked into.” And Acharya adds, “She has made a budget keeping the 2011 Assembly Elections in the state in mind.”
Coming to the state, the journalist points out that she has overlooked the proposal of a bridge between Budge Budge and Uluberia, which was in her plan earlier on. “It’s a populist budget with scant regard for reality,” he adds. Trade union leaders are scared that she is eventually going for privatization that can create havoc in the days to come.

Elaborating on her populist budget, a CPI (M) supporter says that she talks of an industrial hub for the tribals and that also in Lalgarh, the place which is in the news for violence. “If she is so interested in the uplift of the tribals, she could have looked at other tribal areas too,” he says adding that cashing in on the Lalgarh violence is a clear indication of her political ambitions.
But the common people feel that if she can actually implement all her dreams, they will benefit. “She has at least thought of something especially the EMU trains for women passengers,” says Rekha Das who is a daily passenger. Talk of political capital, P S Guha, a trade union leader-turned-journalist says, “If she can actually implement all that she is conceiving, it can give the Left Front government a severe jolt in the 2011 Assembly Elections.”

It is too early to comment on how far she will succeed in her mission to champion the cause of Maa, maati, manush. As of now, her home state is keenly watching her steps.