Even as the critics called it an attempt to lock the stable door after the horse has bolted, the BJP Government on Wednesday inducted four Ministers from Bengal — dropping two sitting ones — two months after the party suffered a humiliating loss at the hands of the Trinamool Congress in the State Assembly elections.
While Minister Babul Supriyo was asked to resign from his post, his ministerial colleague Debashree Chowdhury too was dropped from the Ministry. Supriyo is a two-time MP from Asansol, and Chowdhury won the 2019 general election from Balurghat Lok Sabha seat.
They have been replaced by Nisith Pramanik, John Barla — both from north Bengal — and Subhas Sarkar and Shantanu Thakur from the southern part of the State. Thakur’s induction is seen as an attempt to placate the numerically overwhelming Matua community.
Dr Sarkar represents Bankura district of Jangal Mahal area where the BJP still holds sway. Bankura was once a stronghold CPI(M) MP Basudeb Acharya.
Pramanik is an MP from Cooch Behar while Barla won the Alipurduar seat. Thakur was elected from Bongaon. Pramanik has been a primary schoolteacher.
While his mother Chhanda belongs to the Koch Rajbongshi community, his father Bidhu Bhushan Pramanik is a Dalit.
Making all attempts to cloak his despair Supriyo wrote in the Facebook that he had not been asked to put in his papers but he had resigned.
“Yes, when there is smoke there must be a fire somewhere. Not being able to take phone calls of my friends in the media who care for me hence let me spell it out myself. Yes, I have resigned from the Council Of Ministers!! (as I had framed it earlier, “Asked to resign” may not be the right way to put it),” he wrote.
He further added, “I am extremely happy that I go today without a spot of corruption on me, having served my constituency with all my might and having enjoyed their coincidence when Asansol voted me back as their MP once again, with triple the margin in 2019 again.”
Some other BJP leaders wondered as to why Bengal which had given 18 MPs was deprived of adequate number of ministries. “Why there was no Cabinet Minister from Bengal… we had to face a lot of criticism during Assembly as the Opposition said BJP national leadership was ignoring Bengal by giving only two state ministers … what purpose
inducting four faces will serve now when the horses have already bolted and TMC has already won,” said a State party leader.
Referring to the induction of Barla and Pramanik Bengal Opposition Leader Suvendu Adhikari said, “While the Trinamool Congress Governmentrefused to spare even a single sentence for the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in its Budget, it was left upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi to do justice to them by inducting people members oftheir community in the Union Cabinet.”
The Trinamool Congress, however, would not take the induction of Barla kindly attacking the BJP for taking a person who represented a “separatist” mindset.
Barla had a few days ago attacked the Mamata Banerjee Government and advocated the creation of a new State or a Union Territory in North Bengal which had been deprived of development for years.
“If there is no development, if the Government continues to ignore North Bengal then there is no way but to request the Central Government to either carve out a new State or a Union Territory so that the people of this place see the face of development,” he said adding he would personally take the matter up with the Prime Minister.
