Calcutta, Nov. 28: Sixty thousand had marched 2km on a November afternoon seven years ago protesting CPM atrocities in Nandigram. Hardly 800 ambled across 500 metres this November afternoon in what the Opposition has dubbed “a rally in defence of (Saradha) thieves” and Mamata Banerjee labelled a protest against a central conspiracy against her party and government. Art and culture stalwarts had joined the spontaneous protest of November 14, 2007, even Left-leaning figures like Mrinal Sen and Sankha Ghosh participating in the anti-CPM march. Between College Square and Esplanade, the rally had built a political head of steam for Mamata that eventually lifted her to power. Today, even leading lights from Mamata’s culture clan shied off what was clearly a government-sponsored event. Apart from Trinamul MP and film star Dev and poet Subodh Sarkar, Tollywood B-listers, dark shades in place, ruled the stroll from Nandan to the Academy of Fine Arts via JL Nehru Road, Queen’s Way and Cathedral Road. There seemed to be a message for Mamata: there is a difference between a spontaneous protest and an organised display of discontent. ![]() | | Mamata in Durgapur. Picture by Arup Sarkar |
Indranil Sen, one of the key organisers, claimed success for what should be one of the shortest marches the “city of processions” has ever witnessed. “There was no political speech, no slogans, no use of political might to get people to the rally… still, people came. That’s all we wanted,” he said. For all Sen’s claims of spontaneity, though, politics had left its fingerprints all over the road show. Addressing a city rally on Monday, Mamata had proposed an apolitical march to protest the Centre’s “conspiracy to malign the government and the party in the name of the CBI probe”. The chief minister was in Durgapur today but actor Hirran let the cat out of the bag: “The only reason I’m here today is that this is Didi’s michhil (procession).” Over the past two days, Sen and his fellow organisers, filmmaker Arindam Sil and producer Shrikant Mohta, had burned up the phone lines to boost participation. A director of a few recent box-office releases said he had come because he didn’t know how to say “no” to the troika of Sen, Sil and Mohta, all known for their proximity to Mamata and the ruling establishment. “I’m here because Indranilda asked me to come,” said a budding singer who recently won a reality show. In indirect confirmation of the ruling establishment’s role, deputy commissioner of police (South) Murlidhar Sharma was heard taking orders from the organising trio. “Boss, will the rally enter this place?” Sharma asked Sen, pointing to the entrance of Parish Hall, which shares a boundary with the Academy. “No, no, it will end at the Academy of Fine Arts gate,” Sen said. Sharma barked orders to his men. Mamata had not participated in the November 2007 programme, which had jealously guarded its apolitical character, but her protests against CPM misrule had helped bring people onto the streets. “Those days, she was a ray of hope but she has lost that position,” said a teacher, a Left sympathiser who confessed to having had great expectations from the paribartan Mamata had once peddled. He said he had marched in 2007 but stayed away today. The marchers seemed made up mostly of people from various clubs in and around Calcutta. “I thought the organisers wanted to let Delhi know Mamata still had popular support despite the CBI’s Saradha probe,” the teacher said. “Why should I be a pawn in a game between Trinamul and the BJP?” Sen, the organiser, tried to keep Saradha off the radar when he spoke to this newspaper, identifying myriad targets, from the Centre’s “discrimination” against Bengal and attempts at “sowing disharmony” to its “attacks” on Bengal’s culture and “slander” of its government. He was thin on specifics. Some of the marchers even more so. “I don’t know about the issues, there’s a lot of confusion. I came here to pass the time watching celebrities,” a shipping employee said. Hardly anyone raised any slogans, not even those at the head of the procession. Seven years ago, there was anger on the streets. Today, the Tolly actors waved and posed for pictures. It was paribartan of sorts. ![]()
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1141129/jsp/frontpage/story_19102435.jsp#.VHkYDdKUeSo
BJP scores rally victory | | OUR BUREAU | Calcutta, Nov. 28: Calcutta High Court today asked local agencies to ensure that the BJP got a chance to meet their conditions for holding a meeting near Victoria House on Sunday, springing a “no-rally” alternative that stunned a Trinamul-run administration that has been trying to derail the Opposition event. A bruised state government was tonight weighing the option of a last-ditch appeal in a higher court. But the BJP is savouring the political gift handed by the Mamata government by trying to block the meeting at every step of the way and transforming the event into a cause celebre. BJP national president Amit Shah is the main draw at the Sunday meeting. The court today asked the civic body and fire services that had refused permission to go to the site tomorrow and ensure the dais was built to their specifications. “I’m ready to dismiss the case,” Justice Debangshu Basak told the protesting government, “but then you have to give an undertaking that no rally would be allowed at the spot in the future.” Caught by surprise, the government lawyers chose silence as the venue hosts the most important political event on Trinamul’s annual roster, its July 21 martyrs’ day rally. State BJP president Rahul Sinha asserted vindication of the claim that his party alone was capable of challenging Trinamul’s hegemony in Bengal. “Trinamul had also denied permission to the CPM (North 24-Parganas unit) to hold its rally at Esplanade but unlike them, we have fought the case tooth and nail,” Sinha said. After repeated police refusals to accept its application, the BJP had moved the high court and secured a meeting with the police commissioner, only to be denied permission. The court then gave conditional clearance for the rally, provided the civic body and fire department granted permission. Yesterday, both authorities rejected the application, citing lack of clarity on the position and dimensions of the dais, among other things. “The joint commissioner (development) of Calcutta Municipal Corporation and a representative of the director-general of West Bengal Fire Services will reach the spot at 10.30am tomorrow,” today’s court order said. It added that two BJP leaders would apprise the two officials about the dais to be built. “After receiving the nod from the two officials, the dais will be constructed. The commissioner of police can send two officers who will assist the officials,” the order said. State law minister Chandrima Bhattacharya was non-committal about an appeal, saying the court order was still unavailable on the high court website. “Before going through the order, I can’t say whether the state would like to challenge it before a division bench,” she said. Government sources said they were exploring options. Although courts are closed on weekends, key hearings can be held at judges’ residences. The BJP used the court decision to launch a fresh offensive on the state government. “It is a rap for Mamata Banerjee’s anarchistic style of governance. They had created multiple layers to stop the rally despite the BJP seeking permission since July 22,” said the party national secretary in charge of Bengal affairs, Sidharth Nath Singh. BJP counsel S.K. Kapoor and Kaushik Chanda had moved a fresh petition before Justice Basak today, informing him of the denial letters from the civic authorities and the fire services. “Both have claimed the sketch submitted by the BJP does not agree with the norms. We are ready to build our dais according to their guidelines. Please allow us to hold the meeting near Victoria House,” Kapoor said. The judge told them to serve notices on the civic body and the fire services asking them to be in court at 2pm. Appearing for the state, additional advocate-general Ashok Banerjee said the judge lacked the jurisdiction to hear a case relating to a civic body decision. Justice Basak replied that the civic authorities had taken the decision “on the basis of an earlier order of this court, so this court certainly has the jurisdiction”. Fire services counsel Pranab Dutta and civic body lawyer Biswanath Mukherjee later argued that there was no time left to reconsider a fresh BJP application. “So far as my knowledge goes,” the judge said, “neither of you did anything after receiving the applications, which prompted the petitioner to move my court again.” |
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1141129/jsp/frontpage/story_19102419.jsp#.VHkYr9KUeSo
| | Saturday , November 29 , 2014 | |
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| Stars go missing in march of fear | | ROOPA GANGULY | ![]() These schoolgirls returning home were thrilled to spot Dev walking down the streets on Friday afternoon
I certainly could not understand what the michhil was for. I was told it wasn't a politicalmichhil but then again some of my colleagues said it had been called by Mamata Banerjee.
I got an SMS from my friend Arindam (Sil). The SMS was sent to everybody and I was one of them - "Agami 28 November , shukrobar, dupur 1 tai Nandan e jomayet. Sekhan thekeAcademy obdi protibad michhil. Kono rajnoitik banner e noy. Bangla o Banglar sanskritir opor aghat o chokranter biruddhey protibad e shamil hote... Pothe Ebar Namo Sathi.Please eso. (On November 28, Friday, at 1pm, a gathering at Nandan. From there a protest march to Academy. Under no political banner. To take part in a protest against the attack on and conspiracy against Bengal and its culture. Please be there).
My reply was: "Kisher aghat, ke aghat hanlo sanskritir opor, kisher chakranto? (What attack, who has attacked our culture, what conspiracy)?"
That was that.
Today, I noticed on TV that there were very few celebrities in the michhil. Is the Trinamul running out of stars, I wonder! I didn't quite understand why so many celebrities were missing, where were they?
What I know is that most of them ran away... many even left Calcutta! Most of my colleagues said: "We are not in Calcutta". Some were there in the city but did not show up while I know for a fact that some of them literally ran away to escape the michhil.
What I could make out from the faces of the celebrities was that they were under pressure. Those who went were forced because all shoots were cancelled in the morning. Most of the producers postponed morning shoots. Of course those who walked will not admit that they went because they were scared. And I am not their spokesperson either.
My only concern is that if someone has attacked the culture of Bengal then it's the one and only... our honourable chief minister. She has done the maximum harm to the culture of Bengal. Mukh khinchiye kotha bola Banglar charitra hoye darachhe (Talking with a distorted facial expression is now becoming the character of Bengal). We have become a laughing stock outside Bengal. Our chief minister's behaviour, her speeches... one thing is clear - Bengal's beautiful and sweet language is lost, which is very, very sad. Now using expletives is a fashion in Bengal. Everybody is trying to follow our CM by using ugly words(baansh, s**a...) and ugly expressions (grimace and growl).
As of now it's a hopeless situation that Bengal is going through. I was never really politically aware. But never have I seen any political leader using expletives at a public forum. Now my former colleague Tapas (Paul) is saying he will send goons to rape women, Anubrata Mondal is saying he will kill the cops.... Everybody has become violent and non-tolerant. Attacking or killing someone seems so easy because these people know there's someone who will save them.
I would just request our CM to not provoke the people of Bengal for her own benefit. Thanks to her attitude, everyone is screaming and shouting and fighting against each other in Bengal. From her behaviour and her use of language, it is evident that she is spreading violence among people. She is the representative of violence. The people of Bengal are impatient, annoyed and irritated. And the responsibility for that lies with the elected leader of the state. I don't deny her positive side, she has done some good in these three years but that gets buried under her misdeeds.
I really feel sorry for those who were forced to march in today's michhil. What can they do? After all their bread and butter will be in doubt if they don't follow instructions. Yes, the fear factor rules in today's Bengal - from the streets to the screen.
Do you agree with Roopa Ganguly? Tell ttmetro@abpmail.com
AT LEAST THE MICHHIL WITHOUT A METHOD MADE SOME SCHOOLGIRLS SMILE
Some said it was a walk to "protest the conspiracy by the Centre" against Bengal. That made it, according to many observers, a walk for thieves as the Mamata Banerjee government has been crying foul over the ?conspiracy? by CBI to act against Trinamul MPs and ministers allegedly involved in the Saradha scam. Some said it was a walk to "protest the attack on Bengal?s culture". No one was sure what that really meant. Either way, the walk scripted a curious chapter in the history of Calcutta?s culture of protests. A walk marked by confusion rather than conviction, dropouts rather than participants. Metro spoke to a cross-section of participants and non-participants to present a portrait of the michhil as a movie.
Name: UNHAPPY FEET
Produced by: Shrikant Mohta
Directed by: Arindam Sil-Indranil Sen-Birsa Dasgupta
Casting call: Text messages & phone calls? ranging from requests (?please can you show your face for 5 minutes?) to threats (?you better be there or else??)
Star cast: Dev
Supporting cast (M): Rudranil Ghosh, Soham, Hirran, Shaheb Bhattacherjee, Raj Chakraborty...
Supporting cast (F): Payel, Nusrat, Mimi, Shayantika...
Dialogues:
- "The only reason I am here today is because this is Didi?s michhil," ? Hirran, actor
- "What is happening, why is this happening, I don?t know anything!" ? a TV star was overheard saying
- "I am very proud of what I am doing" ? Birsa Dasgupta, who along with Sil and Sen was making calls to the Tolly crowd for the past two days, on behalf of Shrikant Mohta
- "Everyone participated and the michhil was a success" ? Arindam Sil
- "Don?t even mention you saw me here" ? a popular film-maker who did not show up at the michhil told Metro at a TV studio on Friday afternoon.
Box-office verdict: FLOP because of the no-show of all A-list stars apart from Dev. Where were Prosenjit, Jeet, Parambrata, Abir?? Where were Rituparna, Koel, Raima, Tanushree? ? Or even the Trinamul MPs and the regulars at Mamata?s programmes: Tapas, Satabdi, Debasree, Moon Moon, Ranjit Mallick, June, Locket?. ? Or directors Goutam Ghose, Aparna Sen, Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, Kaushik Ganguly, Srijit Mukherji??
If this was ?Didi?s michhil?, where was she? Mamata Banerjee was in Durgapur.
Postscript: By staying away, many members of Team Tollywood have shown the first glimpse of the rarest commodity in Bengal today ? a spine.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1141129/jsp/calcutta/story_1937.jsp#.VHlEINKUeSo |
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