- The law-and-order situation following the spectacular victory of the Mamata Banerjee led Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the West Bengal assembly election where several killings were reported is still fresh in the nation’s collective memory. There was widespread violence, arsenal, and riots resulting in loss of property and lives which shook the country’s conscience to no end. As you are aware, the disconcerting part is about these unscrupulous elements perpetrating uncalled-for excesses also enjoying the patronage of the political parties irrespective of affiliations. Especially so in the state of West Bengal which has a dubious history of the political party in power looking the other way when partymen are found frequently indulging in anti-social activities.
PC: Pooja Mehta
- West Bengal yet again finds in the news for all the wrong reasons as the horrific killings in Birbhum that witnessed a TMC deputy pradhan and eight people, including women as well as children, being burnt to death in a suspected revenge attack. This dastardly act not only highlights the vicious political culture of the state but also the intense economic competition behind the same. As news emanating from the ground suggest, the victims and alleged perpetrators of the killings all have connections to the governing party what with a TMC community block unit president who has been taken into custody as the main conspirator.
- Of course, prima facie this appears to be a case of intra-party rivalry and the Calcutta High Court has done well to hand over the investigation to CBI to ensure an impartial probe into the deaths. As briefly mentioned above, such political feuds and killings in Bengal are not uncommon and have a long history. Mind you, the root of the simmering tensions could be traced to the erstwhile Left Front government’s three-decade-long dispensation in the state dealing a by now familiar body blow to industrialization and jobs. No wonder, the only avenue of economic sustenance for many from low-income groups became party politics.
PC: PTI
- Consequently, this in turn spawned a culture of syndicate raj, cut money, and rampant corruption where local party members had to be paid for running many businesses, whether construction, transportation or even running a roadside eatery. We are too well aware of the very fact that Bengal’s politics in large part killed normal economic opportunities giving a free run to these mafias to wreak havoc on society. Despite claims to the contrary, the ground situation is something else even now. TMC willingly inherited this legacy and despite its appreciable performance in welfare delivery continues to be a party that operates through local strongmen.
- In the instant Birbhum case, it is alleged that killings took place because of disagreement between local TMC functionaries over sharing the spoils of illegal sand mining. Unsurprisingly, the state government denies this, but reports suggest that around 80 illegal sand nines are scattered along Birbhum’s three rivers. Illegal sand mining is of course not a problem in Bengal alone as many other states too encounter the situation. However, the unholy alliance between party politics and illegal enterprises flourishes more in Bengal than in many other states. Most worryingly, TMC seems as comfortable with this arrangement as erstwhile CPM was. Cannot expect any earth-shattering changes though.
