THE Trinamul government in West Bengal led by Mamata Banerjee has not only had a minor cabinet reshuffle but also a momentous change in leadership. Her trusted lieutenant, Mukul Ray, has been removed from the office of party secretary presumably on grounds of alleged association with the Sharadha scam. In his place comes her nephew, Abhishek Banerjee, which smacks of a dynastic trend. And now with several agencies probing the October 2 blast in Burdwan, the state government has ordered an audit survey of all Khareji(unrecognized) madrasas in West Bengal. The move is to get a clear picture about all such institutions after having obtained information on the number of students taught there, the kind of education imparted and their source of income. It recalls the steps taken by former Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in 2003 though there is a big difference. Bhattacharjee had asked the Intelligence Branch (IB) of the state police to conduct the survey but Banerjee is engaging maulivis, Imams and muazeems to produce information on the unrecognized madrasas. Mamata Banerjee has made a sharp departure from her promise soon after taking office to grant recognition to 10,000 unaided madrasas. Once recognized, these institutions could apply for central funds. Mamata’s promise was evidently aimed at buttressing the Trinamul Congress vote bank. In 2003, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had observed that some of the madrasas were hotbeds of anti-national activity. He had to retract under tremendous pressure from his party.
Mamata Banerjee’s move has got the BJP on her side though only partially. It said that she took three weeks to realize the gravity of the Burdwan explosion which is said to have Indian Mujahideen and even Bangladeshi Jammat links. Still the BJP has welcomed the decision while pointing out that the jihadi elements have got enough time to cover their tracks. The total picture focuses on one point. Mamata Banerjee’s government is beleaguered, what with the Sharadha scam and the Burdwan blast. In her feeling of insecurity, she is having a desperate exercise in crisis control.
