The Hindu : Efforts on to mollify Mamata

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 03, 2002

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Efforts on to mollify Mamata

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI JULY 2. The National Democratic Alliance crisis managers continued to hope that they would be able to persuade the Trinamool Congress leader, Mamata Banerjee, to join the Vajpayee Cabinet. The NDA convener and Defence Minister, George Fernandes, has been assigned the task of talking to her.

The Trinamool Congress leader was conspicuous by her absence from the expanded Union Cabinet, though one of the reasons for the expansion cited was reported to be the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee's desire to re-induct Ms. Banerjee. It appears that she was adamant on getting back the Railways portfolio whereas the Prime Minister was not keen on taking it away from Nitish Kumar just to please her.

Mr. Nitish Kumar is said to have done a very good job and in the process has earned the respect of the Prime Minister and senior Ministers. Mr. Vajpayee was unwilling to allow political calculations to `punish' a performing Minister.

At the same time, the Prime Minister hinted yesterday that he would still want Ms. Banerjee to be in his team. Since Mr. Fernandes was away from the capital for most of the day, it seems that "Operation Banerjee'' would start on his return late tonight. There are indications that she could still have the Ministry of Coal and Mines, which is being held as additional charge by the Home Minister, Lal Kishen Advani. The Trinamool Congress sources insist that Ms. Banerjee was not so much hankering after a Ministry as was insisting on reversing Mr. Nitish Kumar's decision to notify a new railway zone, east central, with headquarters in Hajipur, Bihar. The Trinamool as well as other West Bengal political voices oppose the new zone as it would be carved out of the eastern and north-eastern zones. On June 21, the Trinamool Congress MP, Nitish Sengupta, had written a letter to the Prime Minister, detailing his party's objections.

Perhaps the only concession that can be made to Ms. Banerjee is that the decision would be "reviewed" — even if not overturned — by the Union Cabinet. Ms. Banerjee, then, can claim to have fought a valiant battle on behalf of West Bengal.

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