What was once the biggest strength for her party — her mass appeal — has turned out to be a major worry for her officials and security personnel, after Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has become the chief minister of West Bengal.
Ratan Mukherjee, Banerjee’s most trusted aide and additional private secretary, recently got a call at 8.30 am on a Sunday. On the other side, a nervous police commissioner of Kolkata said, “Around 650 people have gathered in front of the CM’s residence. They want to meet the CM. What to do?”
If this is a problem on the only holiday Banerjee has allowed during the week, during the working days, too, she is flooded with visitors from all walks of life. After assuming power for the first time, Banerjee has discovered there are innumerable staff associations at the Writers’ Building, the state government secretariat. And, all of them want to meet the CM with bouquets and, of course, memoranda regarding their various demands.
After indulging them for the first few days, Banerjee had to ask one of her ministers — Subrata Bakshi — to sit in her office along with other staff to handle this stream of association leaders. Finally, they were told to seek an appointment with the CM after six months.
While some associations are keen to build a rapport with the new government, the dreaded coordination committee, infamous for its no-work-and-all-pay attitude and backed by the Left, is still maintaining its old style and little interest in the new government’s work.
“We had brought six-seven staff from various departments to the CM’s office. After working till 10 pm on the first day, all of them were missing from duty the next day. They didn’t come to the CM’s office but were found sitting leisurely in their native departments,” Mukherjee says.
When asked, the staff flatly said they would not work till 10 pm. “At the most, they said they can work till 7, we were told,” said another Banerjee aide.
“If the financial situation of the state poses a big threat to Banerjee’s performance, the attitude of a section of the government employees is also depressing,” said Saugata Ray, Union minister of state for urban development and a Trinamool Congress leader.
When asked how she was finding the workforce in Bengal, Banerjee replied, “The CPI(M) had tried to destroy the administration. I am hopeful I will get the cooperation of the employees.”
Already, a group of teachers have staged a sit-in demonstration in front of Banerjee’s house, demanding permanent jobs, even as the state is bleeding through its nose to pay salaries and pensions. Banerjee, who has spent her administrative career entirely in Delhi, is also amused to see the work culture ‘nurtured’ during the Left rule in Bengal.
She has observed that on an average a full-time stenographer types just three and a half letters every day at the Writers’ Building!
