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Dominating public discourse in West Bengal is how far ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee, who stormed to power a year ago, has beensuccessful in delivering on the high expectations she had raisedwith her call for paribartan, a term that with all its added connotations has found its way intothe local political lexicon. Ms. Banerjee has claimed that but for an odd area where some moreis left to be done, her government has completed five years' workin just one year and has lived up to every commitment she madebefore assuming office. Advertising a government's achievements on its first anniversary isexpected but if stretched beyond a point how seriously can it betaken? Her assertions, highly exaggerated though, come at a time when thevery quality of governance of the Trinamool Congress-led governmentis under scrutiny. Which way is the much-vaunted paribartan h eaded? "Reverse direction," argue leaders in the Left even asMs. Banerjee publicises her achievements. She claims that hergovernment has arranged for six lakh jobs, attracted investmentproposals worth Rs. 95,000 crore and implemented severalinitiatives for the backward regions as well as minorities. Ms. Banerjee's oft-repeated claim is restoration of normality inboth the Maoist-affected Jangalmahal region and the DarjeelingHills, within months of her assuming office. There may be a tenuouscalm in these regions but developments there have far from borneout the sweeping claim. The signing of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA)agreement has not put the lid on the demand for a separate Statebut only precipitated a volatile situation in the Terai and Dooarsin north Bengal where different ethnic groups are at loggerheadsover the territorial jurisdiction of the proposed set-up. In Jangalmahal, there may have been a lull in Maoist violence sincethe killing of Communist Party of India (Maoist) Polit Bureaumember Koteswar Rao alias Kishenji in November 2011 but recentintelligence reports speak of the ultras not just regrouping therebut also setting up new bases in north Bengal. After her first Cabinet meeting, Ms. Banerjee announced that 400acres of land acquired for the Tata Motors small car factory inSingur would be returned to farmers. But with the issue embroiledin litigation, one of the most important poll promises of theTrinamool is in limbo. Haunted by the spectre of conspiracy against her at every turn, Ms.Banerjee is dismissive of any criticism — whether frompolitical adversaries, the media or human rights groups. If, as hasbeen the case on one occasion, the barb takes the form of an e-mailwith a graphic directed at her jocularly, she perceives it as anattempt at character assassination. When attacked, her response hasoften bordered on the paranoid. Whether it is farmers' suicide or incidents of alleged rape, theChief Minister is in denial mode, alleging that these are merelyattempts by either the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or asection of the media "to malign my government." In her first year in office, Ms. Banerjee's bonhomie with the mediahas certainly soured, reaching its nadir when a government orderwas issued restricting the subscription of newspapers in librariesrun, aided or sponsored by the State to a prescribed list. She evenasked the people to watch entertainment channels, instead of newschannels "which spread canards" against her government. The trappings of power have yet to tame the street-fighterinstincts that guided her when she was in the Opposition. Authority seems to have only heightened her aggressiveness, much inevidence when it comes to blaming the Centre for not bailing hergovernment out of the fiscal distress it finds itself in. Hercommon refrain is that while her government's annual revenue is Rs21,000 crore, it has to spend Rs. 22,000 crore in debt servicing.But fiscal constraints have not prevented Ms. Banerjee from jackingup by more than 100 per cent the budgetary outlay for theInformation and Cultural Affairs department, even as she has sether sights on putting her seal on the cultural space. Surely the "ma, mati, manush" government has more tooffer as it steps into its second year. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as China Elastic Stretch Tape , Rigid Sports Tape for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Medical Wound Dressing.
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