CALCUTTA, FEB 27: As many as 850 television sets were hired and installed at paras (localities). Senior members of the party held on-the-spot panel discussions. Leaders down the ladder organised photo sessions by distributing sweets at the Hazra crossing. The session was wrapped up quickly after a few ``good'' still-shots with bus passengers stretching out their arms for a rosogolla. The event was the Railway Budget and the Trinamool Congress celebrated it live.The next step after a good Railway Budget is the chief ministership of a State. That's the image euphoric Trinamool Congress supporters of Mamata Banerjee packaged for the people of Bengal on Friday.Banerjee's residence in south Calcutta, normally a hub of party activists every morning, was unusually deserted on Friday. The party cadre were mobilised to project the Railway Budget proposals on massive screens. But there was no dearth of the odd eulogist at her modest dwelling on Harish Chatterjee Street where the Railway Minister's 70-plus mother and family members remained glued to television sets throughout the day.One such enthusiast walked up to Banerjee's mother to reaffirm his convictions: ``Mamata is the next Chief Minister of the state. I must tell you that no one and nothing can stop it.''Gayatree Banerjee, Mamata's mother, though overwhelmed by the spate of congratulatory calls, maintained, ``I never tell her to aspire for that. If she makes it to the Chief Minister's post, it is well and good. It all depends on people's support,'' she said.For Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, the Railway Budget was yet another occasion after the Parliament elections to capitalise on the anti-CPI(M) sentiment and give further boost and legitimise her claim for the top most slot of the state. With Assembly polls due in 2001, the party did its best to cash in on the Budget.Back home, it was undoubtedly a special day for a mother whose daughter had the distinction of being the first woman minister to present the Union Railway Budget - the millennium budget as many dubbed it. A special puja was offered at the Kalighat temple early in the morning, a tradition which has been observed for long, said Banerjee's family members. And the phone rang at 9.45 am when Banerjee, on her way to Parliament, called up to seek her blessings. ``Keep your cool was all that I could tell her,'' said her mother.The Marxists reserved their ``criticism'' of the Railway Budget. Chief Minister Jyoti Basu, in a printed statement, said: ``Some of the state's proposals have been included in the announcements made about new trains and projects. These should be implemented in a time-bound manner. The state government will provide necessary cooperation. We should keep in mind that the state contributes more than Rs 2,000 crore in terms of freight alone to the Indian Railways every year''.But the more hard-core ones did not let it pass. For instance, one called up her residence from Burdwan and asked: ``Has she been sent to Parliament to take care of the state's development?''
