On the Road before E Day

Day 8: On the road or in the sky?

The Trinamool Congress is a party of a single superstar candidate: Mamata Banerjee. A few of us assist her with party work and public outreach, but for the most part, in the 42 seats of West Bengal and seats in other states where our candidates are competitive, it is Mamatadi whom the people want to see and hear.

In that sense, a multi-stage election – West Bengal votes in five phases – is a blessing. It allows Mamatadi to travel widely and cover all the constituencies in our state as well as a few others outside Bengal. This is something close to Mamatadi’s heart because she enjoys travelling into the districts and the rural heartland of Bengal, as well as interacting with ordinary people rather than just political workers.

Even as chief minister, Mamatadi puts road trips to good use. She calls this “taking the Kolkata secretariat and government to the people” and going where the people and their problems really are. This gives her a feel of popular issues and distinguishes her from other politicians. During election campaigns like the current one, however, she does take to helicopters. Saving time, covering large distances and maximising the number of meetings gets priority.

We hire helicopters from private companies and since helicopters have become such a topic of discussion in these elections, let me lay down a few points. India’s biggest helicopter operator is Pawan Hans Corporation. It is a public sector corporation, owned by the people of India, and we believe political parties should be able to hire helicopters from it.

As it happens, this is not allowed. On April 9, 2009, the Election Commission (EC) issued a memo that said it had gone over the existing rules, which denied political parties the right to hire helicopters from Pawan Hans on the grounds that it was a public sector company, and saw no reason to revoke these rules. The EC iterated that hiring Pawan Hans helicopters was out of bounds for political parties.

Trinamool considers this an odd directive. Taken to its logical conclusion, party campaigners should not be allowed to buy Air-India or Indian Railways tickets to travel for election work. After all, these too are public sector institutions. Nevertheless, we have abided by the EC’s memo and make no attempt to hire Pawan Hans helicopters.

However, it has come to our notice that senior members and national leaders of top all-India parties have no qualms in renting Pawan Hans helicopters for election campaign travel. Without seeking to target any individuals – and while continuing to insist the EC memo of April 2009 needs to be amended – we are astounded at this contradiction. It needs to be addressed.

Derek O’Brien
Member of Parliament
Chief Whip in the Rajya Sabha and National Spokesperson, Trinamool Congress

On the Road before E Day

Day 7: TMC set for its best ever show in North Bengal

One of the reasons the Trinamool Congress is confident of its best-ever showing in north Bengal in the coming Lok Sabha elections is the strong development record of the state government and the justice and fairness shown to the region. This was apparent as soon as Mamata Banerjee became the chief minister in 2011, when she set up a separate and full-fledged Department for North Bengal Development. In February this year, Uttar Kanya – the mini state secretariat in north Bengal – was inaugurated within 18 months of a decision being taken.

In this manner, key grievances of the people of north Bengal, pending for decades, were sorted out very quickly. What helped was personal presence – Mamata Banerjee has visited north Bengal 26 times since becoming chief minister. In contrast, the CPI(M) chief ministers had a very poor record and were not accessible to common citizens of the region. It was thanks to such close interaction that Mamatadi realised the need to set up the Dooars Task Force, within the broader ambit of the North Bengal Development Department. She has really gone down to the grassroots.

North Bengal has three principal complaints: distance from state institutions, which are located in Kolkata and south Bengal, jobs and education. How has the Trinamool government sought to address these?

Begin with distance from the big institutions of the state. Construction of the Circuit Bench of Kolkata High Court at Jalpaiguri is in its final phase. Next, all district hospitals in north Bengal are being seriously refurbished. With increased number of beds, facilities like SNSU and SNCU, MRI facilities, fair price medicine and diagnostic centres, the hospitals are being raised to the status of multi-super specialty hospitals. Patients who are very ill will no longer need to make the arduous journey to the other end of the state.

Darjeeling and Kurseong, among other places in north Bengal, have a strong network of schools, but higher education has been a problem. The Trinamool government has set up seven new government colleges in the region. A branch campus of the North Bengal University is being built in Jalpaiguri. Cooch Behar is host to a new university named after Panchanan Barma, the visionary Rajbanshi leader from the early 20th century.

Finally, there is the quest and for a better economy and for jobs in north Bengal, a hope that is still alive in the hills despite the neglect under the CPI(M). Mamatadi is focusing on tourism. The Lamahata Home Tourism facility is now functional. The Gazaldoba Tourist Hub was inaugurated about six months ago.

The West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation has envisaged and begun work on a mega tourism hub in Banarhat, Jalpaiguri. It will incorporate a convention centre, five and three star resorts, a day centre for picnics, an amusement park, a budget resort, a crafts village, a hospitality management training institute and a youth hostel. When completed it will be a flagship tourism facility in not just north Bengal but in the entire east and northeast of India. It will complement the film city and film school coming up in Dabgram-Fulbari.

By all accounts, this is an impressive record for a government that has completed not even three years in office. As I end my trip to north Bengal and make my way to the plains, the Trinamool government's deep and honest engagement with the region leaves me with a sense of satisfaction. It makes me believe the voters of north Bengal will appreciate the effort and strengthen the Trinamool Congress.

Derek O’Brien
Member of Parliament
Chief Whip in the Rajya Sabha and National Spokesperson, Trinamool Congress