The hide-and-seek game between the Congress, Trinamool Congress and the Left in West Bengal has taken a new turn with the Union Cabinet’s green signal to the proposed chemical hub at Nayachar, which has cast a dark shadow on the prospects of an anti-Left grand alliance.

The Congress-led UPA government’s latest goodwill gesture to the Left Front government in the state has enraged the Trinamool, which had already smelt a rat ever since Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee went on a spree of inaugurations and foundation stone-laying for a number of projects in the company of External Affairs Minister and state Congress chief Pranab Mukherjee.

Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee and her party have vowed to stage a large-scale agitation in Nayachar against the proposed chemical hub as well as hit the streets against the spree of inaugurations by the CM ahead of the Lok Sabha polls due in April-May.

“We have smelt a rat in the sudden green signal for the Nayachar project just before the elections. This is not an isolated development. Recently, so many foundation stone-laying ceremonies were presided over by the chief minister in which the guest of hounour is our Bengal’s hero,” Leader of the Opposition Partho Chatterjee said without naming Mukherjee.

Trinamool leaders see a game plan in the increasing bonhomie between the UPA and the Left, which they say is providing opportunities to the CPM-led government to showcase its development agenda.

Banerjee had earlier announced she would agitate against the proposed project in Nayachar, which she alleged would cause environmental hazard. Earlier, the project was proposed in Nandigram, but was relocated after a two-year long agitation against land acquisition spearheaded by Banerjee.

“There are so many foundation stones laid by them jointly till date. But none of the projects will ever see the light of the day. In the past 32 years, how many projects have actually taken off? These also will not. They are just trying to create a make-believe world and cheat the people,” Chatterjee added.

Without naming Mukherjee, Chatterjee said, “He is behaving like the spokesperson of CPM. Their party’s condition in Bengal is not well and such moves will further deteriorate it.”

Opposition cries foul over stimulus package
A day after state Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta announced the fiscal-social stimulus package of Rs 5,106 crore, the Opposition lambasted the move as not only a poll gimmick but also unethical and unconstitutional.

Both Trinamool Congress and Congress have geared up to take on the CPM government when the budget session of the state Assembly begins on March 9.

Manas Bhuniya, leader of the Congress Legislative Party, said: “This is illegal. When the budget session is to start on March 9, how can the finance minister announce such a package? This is bypassing the parliamentary democracy.”

“This is a poll gimmick. The people of Bengal know what the CPM has been doing for the last 32 years. With elections round the corner, the government now wants to woo voters by fake packages. The people will not be misled by such gimmicks,” said Partho Chatterjee, leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.

The Opposition also questioned the funding of the package and said it will only bring to more debt to the state. “The state government has to pay 12,000 crore as interest per year. How will the state generate the money?,” said Bhuniya.