Modi And Mamata: Always At Loggerheads
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-05-31 06:41:54
About the Author
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
View all posts by this Author
Relations between the Centre and West Bengal, or more specifically between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, nosedived to a new low on Friday when one variously reported incident and one Central decision widened the chasm between the two further. It is no secret that there is no love lost between the two but the recent no-holds-barred state elections seem to have taken matters to a point of no return.
Usually, parties and leaders at the forefront of the campaign make an about turn once the elections are over and the political landscape is full of friendships transcending the political divide. But the differences between Modi and Mamata seem to have cemented further and neither can stand the other.
In the recent instance, while Mamata Banerjee says she had meetings and surveys lined up in Yaas-affected areas before the PMO asked her to be present for a meeting with the PM when he visited the state for an aerial survey and stock-taking on the cyclone, the other side says that she kept the PM and the state governor waiting for 30 minutes. To this, the TMC says that when Mamata reached the spot, she was kept waiting outside as a meeting was in progress. She says she submitted a report to the PM and asked his leave to proceed with her work. She later said that she is even ready to touch the PM's feet if it is for the good of the state but the Centre should stop insulting her.
Later in the day, the Centre also issued an order recalling the state chief secretary, Alapan Bandhopadhyay (who has just been given a three-month extension by the Central government a few days back) for Central duty. The TMC called this "unexpected and unprecedented" while Mamata called it "political vendetta". The chief secretary is handling the Covid situation and that is why he was given an extension in the middle of the second wave. If the Centre wanted him at Delhi, it should have issued the order before the state government gave him an extension. But the current order is unjustified.
Whatever the differences between two political leaders, they should never come in the way of smooth governance and should never reach a point when both start disrespecting constitutional propriety. The PM heads the government at the Centre while the chief minister heads it at the state level. Both should display respect for each other. Our federal structure will crumble if political leaders bring their personal hatred of each other in the way of official work and try to put down each other, whatever the situation. Both Narendra Modi and Mamata Banerjee are responsible and popular political leaders of long standing. They should find a way out of this.
