Trinamool faces flak as UPA beats drum

However,the event turned out to be an aggressive campaign for the UPA II government,peppered with doses of criticism of the Trinamool Congress government,praise for the earlier Left Front government and a distinct hint that the financial woes of the state might not be solved overnight but would take more time than anticipated.

The two ministers were in the city as part of a Group of Ministers on Media and to interact with the regional media at the Kolkata Press Club regarding the achievements of UPA II.

Asked to compare the Left and Trinamool vis-a-vis UPA I and UPA II, Chidambaram said,“We do not choose partners. The partners choose us. The Left parties did so in 2004 and the Trinamool Congress chose us in 2009. We are happy about that. But we do not want to make an assessment between the two partners.”

Asked if the Union home ministry had any inputs on Maoists regrouping in Junglemahal,Chidambaram said that the threat is there but the Maoists had largely been contained in three district of West Bengal due to the policies of the earlier CPM government and the present Trinamool government. The LWE problem continues in three states but there has been remarkable recovery in West Bengal,Chidambaram added.

However,when asked about the law and order situation in Bengal,Chidambaram replied,“My only concern is the culture of violence. Many of the incidents in Bengal are due to inter-party clashes. Democracy is a place for word for word,argument for argument,and not bullet for bullet. Political parties must abjure violence before we call upon militant and extremist groups to abjure violence.”

The Trinamool government came in for criticism again when mediapersons asked why the allocation for 15 centrally funded flagship programmes for the state went down from Rs 28,793 crore in 2011-12 to Rs 24,342 crore in 2012-13.

Chidambaram said this was largely due to non-utilisation of funds. “We appreciate the difficulties the state is going through. But we have not received the fund utilisation figures for five centrally sponsored schemes as yet.” Sibal and Chidambaram then showed how over 50 per cent of the allocations under Sarva Siksha Aviyan had remained unutilised under the new regime in Bengal.

Asked about the moratorium on payment of loan interest that the state government has been demanding,Chidambaram said neither he nor Sibal could have a personal view on this. He added: “We understand that the finances of the state are stressed with large outstanding loans. The Centre and the state will put their heads together and find a solution. I am sure the wise person that the PM is and the practical person that the CM is,they will meet and find a way out.”

On the Presidential poll,Chidambaram said the UPA candidate Pranab Mukherjee had a clear vote of 65 per cent of the electoral college as of now. Asked if this included the Trinamool,he avoided replying.

Regarding the Naxalite encounter in Chhattisgarh,the home minister said the CRPF was ready to face inquiry. But it was a call that the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister will take,he added.

Congress stages
walkout over financial package

kolkata: The Congress Legislature Party on Thursday staged a walkout from the Assembly on the issue of demanding financial package from the Centre. The state government will send an all-party delegation to the Centre to seek the package.

The Congress objected to a portion of the resolution related to restructuring on repayment of loan and payment of annual interest that was tabled in the House by Minister for Parliamemtary Affairs Partha Chatterjee. The paragraph read: “Whereas the union government in spite of several requests from the state government has not responded to provide moratorium on the debt and repayment obligation nor has it responded to the restructuring of the above massive debt burden.

TMC hits back: ‘PC remarks unethical’

The Mamata Banerjee government reacted sharply to Union home minister P Chidambaram’s comments on the law and order situation in West Bengal,saying the Congress leader’s comments were “unethical and unjustified”.

The comments were made to “supply oxygen to the CPM,which extended its support to Pranab Mukherjee’s candidature” as President,the Trinamool alleged.

Chidambaram said this afternoon: “Political killings are taking place in West Bengal. This is not a healthy sign of democracy.”

Panchayat and rural development minister Subrata Mukherjee said: “The Congress is attempting to mount pressure on us ahead of the Presidential election. This (the comment) is part of it. The Union home minister should know that law and order is a state subject and it cannot be discussed even in Parliament.”

Mukherjee said 62 political killings took place in the first five months of 2011 when CPM was in power. In the first five months of this year,only five political killings took place. “Chidambaram should collect facts from police before making comments. How many times did he comment when people were killed in Nandigram,Netai and Marichjhapi during the Left regime?” Mukherjee asked.

“His comment is not only unethical but it is bad in taste. If required we will send a written rejoinder to the Centre,” the panchayat minister told reporters at Writers’ Buildings.

‘Single test for engineering from 2014’

Kolkata: Union HRD and Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal,who met Mamata Banerjee this afternoon,said the chief minister has agreed to introduce “ “single test entry ex”m” for engineering and other streams from 2014. Earlier,the state government had written to the central government expressing its reservations about switching over to the single entry tests immediately. Sibal explained that the basic objectives for single test system was to ensure 1) reduction in multiplicity of exams ( after class XUU student snow go for 10 to 20 tests entrance tests ); 2) to ensure that coaching centres and institutes are reduced to the minimum ( such institutes right now have a turn over of about Rs 20,000 crore per annum); 3) to ensure school education and schools exams are given due importance in the gradation process and finally 4) to ensure students do not have to pay capitation fees.