Ma, Mamata, maddened

Getting angry and opposing every decision of the Centre is Didi’s novel way of showing her support.

You have to give it to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. She is an equal opportunities adversary. No one, howsoever important, can escape her wrath once she is peeved. And which is quite often. In the old days, before she captured the throne, she confined her temperamental outbursts for the Left. Now the field has widened. Much like the Red Queen, her instinct is to yell ‘off with their heads’ even when the party in question may just have popped by for a courtesy call. But this is what makes Mamatadi loveable, indeed childlike.

HT Image

Of course, this can be alarming considering she is the head of a populous state whose economy has been going down the tube. But then, we have to make exceptions for creative people like Ms Banerjee who is a dab hand at painting and writing poetry. The target of her latest outburst is the prime minister himself. Apparently during the Singur agitation when she was on a hunger strike for 26 days, the PM did not so much as enquire about her. Her inference is that this was because he was afraid of his friends in the Left. It’s another matter that this PM took on the Left and staked his government on the nuclear deal. But what is a fact or two between allies? This alliance, we have noticed, is a unique one. Mamatadi has devised a novel way of showing her support. This takes the form of opposing every move the government makes, be it the Lokpal Bill or FDI in retail. So in effect, the BJP is out of a job with Ms Banerjee having taken over the role of the Opposition. This is a good sign, keep it all in the family.