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Matchless Maverick Mamata...

Call it her tantrums or determination but fasting for 25 days is something that a few would like to do, unlike Mamata Banerjee. At the stroke of midnight (after fasting for 25 days), a feeble voice when utters ¡§I am ending the fast because the country¡¦s top leaders, including President Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, have requested me to do so¡¨, gives a fair idea of her resolve.

Hittu Saluja
Call it her tantrums or determination but fasting for 25 days is something that a few would like to do, unlike Mamata Banerjee. At the stroke of midnight (after fasting for 25 days), a feeble voice when utters ¡§I am ending the fast because the country¡¦s top leaders, including President Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, have requested me to do so¡¨, gives a fair idea of her resolve. Whether it is fighting against powerful Tatas or Salim Group Boss Benny Santoso, Mamata is always at the forefront. Singur savour In Singur Tata is not a name that people would like to remember, it¡¦s Mamata who is more relevant to them because she is fighting for their cause. This is quite evident in their slogans against the government,¡§ Tata noi atta (what we need is flour, not the Tatas)¡¨ Caring little about herself, Mamata called for an indefinite hunger strike on December 4, 2006 and also urged people to join her in Mass fast. By the 23rd day of her hunger strike, she fell critically ill. She was put on Oxygen support. Prolonged fasting deteriorated her condition as her Blood Pressure went down to the alarming level. She complained of pain in the chest and muscle cramps. Amidst efforts by many national and state leaders, she refused to budge from her resolve and said, ¡§One Mamata Banerjee may die, but that won't matter. I am not afraid of death. I am for safeguarding the interest of farmers who have to be protected¡¨. Rubbing an emphatic impression on her, she herself turned another Gandhi who believes in the method of fasting and demonstrating for the cause of masses against the state establishment. She said,¡¨ I had to resort to hunger strike following the Gandhian way of struggle when all democratic ways of protests were closed.¡¨ She alleged the West Bengal government of forcibly acquiring multi-crop agricultural land for the Tata Motors¡¦ small project at Singur, about 35 Kms away from Kolkata. This not just remained an issue within the confines of West Bengal, heat of the boiling soon Singur reached Delhi. Mercurial Mamata From hot debates in Parliament, to storming walk outs, to throwing papers at the Speaker, Mamata is known to be a maverick. She is a fire-brand in the political field. Her mercurial temperament is something for which she is very well known. If West Bengal calls her Goddess Durga, in the rest of India, she is known as the Bengal Tigress. Her public outbursts have always dragged her into various conflicts. Her resignation politics has categorized her into an inconsistent ally in the arena of coalition politics. Various occasions when she sought the attention and came into headlines are: „« She threatened to resign from the portfolio of Sports from PV Narasimha Rao ministry. „« Mamata endeavored to commit suicide by wrapping a black shawl around her neck in the year 1996 at a public rally. „« In the same year, she protested against her own government in the Parliament against the petrol price hike. „« In 1997 when the Railway Minister Ram Vilas Paswan was presenting the budget, she threw her shawl on him for ignoring West Bengal and offered her resignation to the then Speaker PA Sangma. „« In 2005 she threw her resignation letter at the Deputy Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal in Lok Sabha. She was actually showing her resent to Speaker of Lok Sabha Somnath Chatterjee as demanded for the adjournment motion on an issue. Political Profile Born on January 5, 1955 in Kolkata, Mamata Banerjee is a politician to the core. As a young woman in 1970s, she rose to the position of General Secretary, Mahila Congress, West Bengal. In 1984, she defeated CPM¡¦s Somnath Chatterjee and became a member of Parliament. After rising to the position of the President, Youth Congress, West Bengal, soon she made her way for Delhi and was allocated the portfolio of Union Minister of State, Human Resource Development (Department of Youth Affairs and Sports; and Women and Child Development) in the PV Narasimha Rao government. She opposed her own government at a rally by alleging of joining hands with Communist party, her staunch rivals in the state. She split with the Congress Party in 1997 and formed her own party called The All India Trinamool Congress which has been posing as the strong rival of the Communist Party in the state. In 1999, she joined Atal Bihari Vajpayee led NDA government and was given the Railway Minister. Soon she parted from the alliance on Gujarat violence and showed her wish to comeback in the Congress. Now she is the lone MP from her party. Bengal¡¦s own Mamata Di Mamata Banerjee is not just known for her tantrums to gather crowd, she is a real mass leader. She has sprung up from the grass-roots taking up the real issues of the masses. Mamata Di as she is addressed to by people with love and affection, is the champion of simplicity. Politicians in India are almost similar creatures. They often visit foreign countries, encash from their position to the core. They reside in Luteyns bunglows and roam about in Government vehicles. But Mamata is a matchless politician with a humble home of tin roof, plainly constructed doors and small windows fitted into walls just as another house in Kolkata. She wears simple cotton saris and leather slippers with a slinging bag on her shoulder. This simple leader has shown her mettle by defeating CPI-M heavyweight Somnath Chatterjee in the year 1984 from Jadavpur. Her party worker confidently utters, ¡§Frankly, Didi is what country needs; she is there to listen and help the likes of us who have nothing to look forward to.¡¨ She may not be a hot shot politician, but surely a person who can relate to her own people. She meets with general public and hears their problems and tries her level best to solve them. Lattoo Sen, an unemployed youth says, ¡§Last year, Mamta gave us money from her MP fund for cremating those whose families could not afford it.¡¨ She is a Bengali enigma who has nothing to do with luxury and extravaganza. Her party worker claims, "In our party there is no place for extravagance or waste. The people of this state know that Trinamul is hard-pressed for funds. But they also know that didi is willing to do virtually anything for them. So they keep coming to us in large numbers." ¡§She is like a girl from the colony¡Kmillions of Bengalis will find resonance in her,¡¨ describes a columnist. But her critics defy her tactics by commenting, ¡§You can¡¦t do work and stunt-baazi together. Gimmicks work only to a certain extent, after that you¡¦ll be exposed.¡¨ Protesting like a tigress¡Kdefying like a revolutionist ¡Kcrying like a child¡K fighting like a warrior and sloganeering against her opponents like a politician to the core¡Kis what makes Mamata matchless and maverick. She was given many chances to raise her stature in politics, but each time she could not maintain it because of her adamant attitude.