Biman chants Mamata mantra against civil N-liability Bill

Mamata Banerjee has finally got a supporter in Alimuddin Street, the state headquarters of the ruling CPI(M). The new 'convert' is none other than Biman Bose, the state secretary and the chairman of the Left Front.

It seems that Mamata's slogan 'Maa- Maati-Manush (The mother, the land and the people), which has almost dethroned the CPI(M) from power, has now been adopted as the 'mantra' by Biman Bose. Today, while briefing mediapersons about the resolutions taken by the Left Front in its meeting, Biman Bose repeatedly took recourse to the TMC slogan 'Maa-Maati-Manush.

Not only he uttered those words, he went further by appealing to the TMC leaders to join issue with the Left for the sake of 'Maa-Maati-Manush'.

Referring to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy verdict, he said that the Left Front had appealed to all MPs from West Bengal to lend their support in opposing the civil nuclear liability Bill in Parliament.

Though he did not mention the name of Mamata Banerjee, who is also a member of Lok Sabha from the state and a senior member of the UPA-II government, he left nothing to imagination that the Left's appeal was aimed at her.

After the Bhopal gas tragedy verdict the CPI(M) has demanded that the government should withdraw civil nuclear liability Bill.

Humbled by successive electoral defeats, Biman appeared to be sobered down a bit. When it was pointed out to him that the slogan 'Maa-Maati-Manush' has been coined by the TMC leader Mamata Banerjee, he made it clear that he was using it consciously but not disparagingly. He echoed almost the same words while explaining the reasons for using this coinage.

An amused Partha Chatterjee, the leader of the Opposition in the state assembly and a senior leader of the TMC, observed, "The CPI(M) is always known for its belated realisation. Earlier when Mamata raised this slogan they used to taunt her, now they are following her." Despite this sudden change in their tenor, they cannot save their party from the impending rout, he feels.

If the electoral defeat has brought in a sobering effect in Biman Bose, it has set in a panicky reaction among the front partners. Veteran Forward Bloc leader Ashok Ghosh has admitted in public that the Left has lost the peoples' support.

Another Front leader and a minister of the Left Front government Kiranmoy Nanda has gone on record saying that the Left would be out of power in the next assembly election. Nanda criticised the workings of the state government of which he himself was a member. But, Nanda's remarks are seen as a feeler sent to the opposition TMC as, in the present scenario, he needs critical support from the opposition to win from his assembly seat in East Midnapur.

In the coming days, more and more similar noises could be expected from the minor partners of the Front.

According to a senior leader of CPI(M), now the major challenge before them is to keep the Front intact.

However, Biman Bose declined to answer any question related to the post-poll politics today.