"Didikebolo" initiative proving to be a double-edged sword for

The public outreach DidiKeBolo (Tell Didi) intiative launched by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is turning out to be a double-edged sword for the TMC as it has both helped them in reaching out to the masses and at the same time make them hear embarrassing queries and complaints of extortion, cut money and corruption.

On advise of poll strategist Prashant Kishor and his firm 'Indian Political Action Committee' - appointed by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) after its Lok Sabha poll reverses - Banerjee had on July 29 launched a helpline number 9137091370 and a website www.didikebolo.com as a part of "DidiKeBolo" to enable people have a direct interface with the party and its functionaries.

 

The digital platform was a hit among people as over two lakh calls were received in the first two days of the launch.

Banerjee had also unveiled the massive public outreach programme under which over 1,000 party leaders will visit 10,000 villages over the next 100 days to understand people's problems and redress their grievances.

The project is proving to be a boon for the people in agony.

Hundreds of callers in personal distress due to ill health have been provided immediate assistance by the state health department and TMC leaders and ministers.

Senior TMC leaders cited examples of Rima Datta a resident of North 24 Parganas, Samar Mandal a resident of South 24 Parganas, Ebadur Rahman a resident of Hooghly district, Jagannath Chakraborty a resident of Howrah district, Md Firoz a resident of Jalpaiguri district and many such cases who were either suffering from medical emergency or were not getting admission in colleges.

"After getting calls from them we immediately contacted local TMC leaders and concerned departments and was asked to resolve the issues. All the complaints were addressed within just 24 hours," a senior TMC leader told PTI.

Even people from Bengal stuck in floods in Karnataka and Kerala were rescued after their location and coordinates were passed on to the disaster management department, the TMC leader said.

The digital platform also has a share of problem for the ruling Trinamool Congress.

The initiative has raised some unwarranted allegations for the TMC leadership.

"There has been calls with complaints of extortion, cut money and running syndicates. As soon as we are receiving those complains we are looking into it. Some callers have complaints against certain leaders, especially those who have joined TMC from other political outfits post 2011- when the party came to power," another TMC leader said on condition of anonymity.

During the mass outreach program too, the party leaders are being forced to bite the tongue while answering queries on "cut money" and local leadership's "arrogance", a party functionary said here.

"Some people are happy that they can directly put up their grievances, but there are others who are questioning us on cut money, arrogance and misbehavior by local leaders and the corruption charges leveled against them. We are facing a tough time answering these questions. But we can assure you that steps would be taken to address these issues," a TMC leader, who too has faced such uncomfortable questions,told PTI Tuesday.

Among those participating in the outreach programme are senior party leaders and ministers Rabindranath Ghosh, Jyotipriyo Mullick, Arup Roy, Firhad Hakim, Partha Chatterjee, Sashi Panja, Sadhan Pande, Tapan Dasgupta, Nirmal Ghosh, Abdur Rezzak Mollah.

"In areas where we have visited there is a large sectio of people who have complaints against local leadership and are asking us why we were hesitating to throw out corrupt and arrogant leaders from the party. We will submit our observations to the leadership," said another TMC leader.

Reacting to the development, state BJP president Dilip Ghosh said people of Bengal are fed up with the misrule and cut money business of TMC.

"The questions they are facing is just a mild reflection of people's mindset, anger towards them. Time is running out for TMC as people are getting ready to throw them out in next assembly polls," Ghosh said.

According to sources, the Lok Sabha polls this year, which saw the BJP bagging 18 of the state's 42 seats, have debunked the myth of TMC's invincibility.

TMC supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had in June cautioned party councilors against indulging in corrupt activities and extorting "cut money" or illegal commission from people for doling out government scheme benefits.

The party, which won 22 Lok Sabha seats, has sought "professional help" to refurbish its image in order to counter an aggressive and ideology-driven BJP in the state, ahead of the 2021 assembly polls, the sources said.