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Bengal CM’s nephew asks youth to reach out to Covid-19, Amphan victims, draws flak
Addressing the members on social media on Saturday, Banerjee, a Lok Sabha member, said they can owe their allegiance to any political party but their sole job would be to serve Bengal.
‘Banglar Jubo Shakti’ (Bengal’s youth power), an ‘apolitical’ platform announced in June by Abhishek Banerjee, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew and Trinamool Youth Congress president, has drawn criticism from opposition parties within 24 hours of the young leader’s announcement that more than five lakh young men have registered as members and they will help people in distress.
Addressing the members on social media on Saturday, Banerjee, a Lok Sabha member, said they can owe their allegiance to any political party but their sole job would be to serve Bengal. “Take an oath to help people affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and Cyclone Amphan in every possible way,” said Banerjee, citing the life and works of Swami Vivekananda, Subhash Chandra Bose and other prominent Bengalis.
Though Banerjee said that it did not matter if the members belonged to the CPI(M), Congress or the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) he reiterated several times that they would have to save the state from “oshubho shakti” (evil force). “Bengal must win. We have to fight till the last drop of our blood. You have to prove that your first allegiance is to this land,” he said, not mentioning the BJP as a political rival or the 2021 assembly elections even once.
The platform, TMC leaders said, is the brainchild of political strategist Prashant Kishor, who was roped in by Mamata Banerjee after the BJP won 18 of the state’s 42 Lok Sabha seats in 2019. The poll results indicated that a sizeable chunk of young voters supported the BJP. For the ruling party, this is a cause for concern before the crucial assembly polls where alleged nepotism in distribution of cyclone relief funds and mismanagement in health sector can be raging issues.
“Each ‘jubo joddha’ (youth warrior) will have to select 10 families of his or her choice and help them for the next few months. Once you select the families you cannot alter your choice. We will help you in every possible way. We will launch a forum where each member can discuss their problems using their ID and password. I too will look after 10 families,” said Banerjee.
He also made it clear that people can join the TMC through the platform.
“Those who want to join politics will be given the opportunity. If they show the right potential they can work at any level. I am willing to leave my post for one of them,” said Banerjee.
He said members of the platform will have to convince the families why they want to help them and stay connected with them through WhatsApp groups. “Five lakh members can connect to 50 lakh families. There will be more members and thus, more families. I will personally monitor this,” said Banerjee.
The BJP leadership has mocked Banerjee for launching the programme.
“Where was he in the last four months? Suddenly he has made a comeback with five lakh new youth workers and five lakh old workers decamped with money sent for cyclone relief. This platform is a copy of what the BJP has already done. We have taken food and medicines to people all these months,” said BJP state president Dilip Ghosh.
Panchayat minister Subrata Mukherjee, who led the state Youth Congress decades before the birth of the TMC, defended Banerjee.
“If Dilip Ghosh is criticizing it, it means this is the path to follow. As a young leader Abhishek has said the right things. He has given a call, asking everybody to join the movement,” said Mukherjee.
Political analysts, however, feel that an operation of this scale can succeed only if its face is Mamata Banerjee.
“This is basically an exercise to overhaul the machinery of the TMC. It is not easy to execute an operation of this scale. It can succeed only if the TMC chief leads it herself,” said political observer and columnist Suvashis Maitra.
“Jubo Shakti is the name of the 54-year-old mouthpiece of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (youth front of the CPI-M). Abhishek Banerjee has even stolen the name. We have served a legal notice. It seems there is no end to looting by the TMC,” said Sayandip Mitra, state secretary of DYFI.
