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Ajit
Panja shares election dais with PM, blasts Mamata
Sabyasachi
Bandopadhyay
Kolkata, May 6:
Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee today dropped broad hints that rebel
Trinamool leader and former Union minister Ajit Panja would rejoin
the Union Cabinet very soon. He was addressing an election rally
at Belgharia in North 24 Parganas district, where he shared the
dais with Panja, who came to the rally with about 1,000 of his supporters.
That Panja was all set to rejoin the ministry was clear when, at
the end of his speech, the former minister referred to Prime Ministeter
Vajpayee as his leader and said that he was not alone in his rebellion
but there were other MPs and MLAs who would come along with him.
‘‘We, along with the BJP, will fight together for the
development of the state,’’ he said.
And things became clearer when at the start of his speech, Vajpayee
referred to Panja as his future colleague. ‘‘If some more
MPs from the Trinamool Congress join the NDA, there will less trouble
for the alliance,’’ Vajpayee said during his speech, indicating
a split in Trinamool Parliamentary Party. Three other MPs are reportedly
unhappy with Mamata’s decision to quit the NDA and her autocratic
style of functioning.
Prior to Vajpayee’s speech, Panja ‘‘explained’’
why he had come to attend the rally. ‘‘I have come here
to salute a man who tried his best to implement the Bengal package
(a list of developmental projects for West Bengal advocated by Trinamool
Congress),’’ Panja said. ‘‘I have come here
to pay respects to one man who is all for globalisation of the economy
and for its improvement. A man who is concerned with the development
of our state,’’ he added.
Panja also said the magic of Mamata was lost after she had joined
hands with Congress. ‘‘Mamata quit the ministry after
the Tehelka episode but now she sits in the lap of Pranab, an idiot,
who is the grand father of Tehelka,’’ he said. ‘‘In
fact it was Pranab and (CPM leader) Harkishen Singh Surjeet who
hatched the conspiracy to finish Mamata. I hear Mamata had quit
NDA to get minority votes. But in my constituency, 35 per cent of
the voters are Muslims and I have no problem getting their votes,’’
Panja said.
During his 40-minute-long speech Vajpayee was all praise for Panja
and said that his performance as minister was excellent. ‘‘He
also played the role of Ramakrishna Paramhansa in the play of the
same name that he and his troupe staged at several places in India
and abroad. That way he spread the message of the great saint,’’
the Prime Minister said.
Without naming Mamata Banerjee, Vajpayee described the Congress
as a sinking ship and said whoever will sit on this ship will also
drown. Appealing for votes for his candidates he said: ‘‘We
don’t have majority in the Rajya Sabha and because of that
our train of progress halts there. If you give me some MLAs, we
can have more MPs in the Rajya Sabha which will help us draft important
laws,’’ the Prime Minister said.
Describing the NDA front as the third option for the voters of West
Bengal, the Prime Minister launched a scathing attack on both the
Congress and the Communists. ‘‘The Marxists have ruled
the state for 24 years but they have not done anything worthwhile.
Ours is the third option which is commoitted for all round development
of the state,’’ he added.
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