Kolkata Confidential

Governor’s positive criticism
As Chancellor of all Universities,Governor M K Narayanan has of late started pointing out what’s going wrong with the academic institutions — that too in a diplomatic manner. Over the last few days,he has been vocal about curbing instances of students violence. But ruling out any need for police deployment during campus elections,he asked students to come to the discussion table. The Governor also raised his voice against gherao and said campus violence can be curbed if only students come forward. Recently at a programme at the University of Calcutta,he pointed at the dipping standards of the university. On the one hand,he praised Vice-Chancellor Surajan Das and compared him to the likes of Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee,on the other,he pointed out that the academic standards of the university has vastly dropped from what it was even a hundred years ago.

Mamata a closet Marxist?
Although there is a deep animosity between the Left Front government in West Bengal and the opposition Trinamool Congress,in practice,the latter seems to have a soft corner for Marxist ideology. Recently,while addressing a mammoth rally in Esplanade,Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee made her love for Marx evident. “The CPM leaders are Marxists only in name,but not in practice,” she declared. “What do they think? That they are the only ones who know about Marxism and so they can do anything and pass it off in the name of Marx? I have also read all the works of Marx and Lenin. In fact I admire Lenin’s theory of Haves and Have Nots,” she said.

She said,he said at the Writers’
Fixers and middlemen are often seen hanging around in Writers Building and mingling with officials. They usually help people get things done speeding up files — for a consideration. Recently,an incident was observed in which a young woman,stopped by a policemen from entering the high security area,tried to force her way in saying she was the niece of police commissioner Gautam Mohan Chakrabarti. “If you are the niece of the Police Commissioner,then I am the nephew of the Chief Minister,” shot back the policeman. Aghast,the woman went off looking for another way to sneak in.

Stars do not favour the CPM
The Communists do not believe in astrology but the way things are going for them,something seems to be terribly wrong with their stars. Not to be left behind by the main Opposition BJP,the CPM too wanted to launch a nationwide agitation against corruption,beginning with Andhra Pradesh. But their main ally in Andhra Pradesh,TDP leader Chandrababu Naidu,had already begun a different campaign — a hunger strike.

The party then looked towards Karnataka only to find that its cadre was busy with the coming local elections.

To rub salt in their wounds,someone suggested the CPM should start its agitation from West Bengal. With their very survival at stake in the state,an agitation against the Central government is probably the last thing on the mind of CPM workers in West Bengal. The UPA government,it seems,does not have to contend with the Left fury for the time being.