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When, riding on an unprecedented and historic wave of public
support, we first set foot in Writers' Building a year ago, we had a mountain to
climb, a desert to traverse and an ocean to swim in.
But we were careful from the beginning. We knew what the challenges were and how those looked like. We knew that we
had no choice but to travel in darkness if we were to show the
people of Bengal a new dawn that they richly deserved. We knew our coffers were empty. Every
child born in this state has a huge debt dangling like the sword of Democles on its head. We
found out that our worst fears were true — for every rupee that the government earns, it has to
spend 94 paise on salaries and interests on debts. We were victims of a grave economic sin
perpetrated by the previous governments. Ironically, our task was to redeem a wrongdoing which was not ours. We had to
embark on an uphill task of making both ends meet. If one chooses to forget this
reality while trying to judge the performance of our government, it will not
only be
foolhardy, but a distortion of facts. I know that the people of Bengal whose
lives were rendered
insufferable at the hands of an all-pervasive party-cracy over the last three and
a half decades will
not forget the memories of their nightmare ever in the future. They will never forgive the
semi-fascist regime that stifled every
aspect of their lives for 34 years.
We stand on the huge debris of a crushed system that was a
gift to us from a mindless and
incompetent previous regime. Throughout the last one year, we have tried to
reason with the
Central Government our predicament. We have only one demand which, to our mind,
is just and
fair. We are unable and unwilling to bear the brunt of the sin that is not ours.
We asked the Central government why they had allowed a recklessly extravagant
government to throw all norms to the wind and carry on with its policy of debts
and more debts that eventually has shattered the state's economy. Every other
state had accepted the recommendations of the
Finance Commission and had implemented the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management
(FRBM) act. The only exception is our state. Why was the Left
regime given a free hand to
squander public money? We merely stated that the Central Government can not shirk
its
responsibility of allowing successive Left governments to go scot-free in
financial wrongdoings and then looking away from the sin.
government pays. This amount can be utilized to make Pashchimbanga the state of our dreams.
And let me be very clear on this. We are not knocking the doors of the Central government with
a begging bowl. We demand and deserve justice. Our demands are neither unconstitutional nor
unprecedented. Our country has examples of allowing moratoriums to debt-stricken states. We
will also not grudge if similar benefits are extended to any other state that are suffering like us.
Unfortunately, even after a series of meetings at the highest echelons of power in the Central Government, we have
returned empty handed. We have no clue as to when and whether our
demands will be met. This means, the darkness that marked the beginning of our humble journey
is still very much the same. We have to make do with whatever little we have, being sandwiched
between the wrongs of the previous government and the indifference of the Centre. Every
passing day is making our challenges that much more
difficult. And we have to find our way through this fateful journey.
On top of this fiscal liability and the rigid non-cooperation of the Centre, the new born
government has been subjected to relentless
and baseless malice and planned malign from vested
interests and influential media. A culture of
making mountains out of molehills is holding sway and a chorus of negativity
rants the air at every drop of a hat. Our detractors seem to entirely
ignore the facts and the reality — how
precarious is the situation and how vulnerable we are and
how we are making impossible things happen
through sheer determination and hard work. The
only thing that rules their judgement and drives their actions is their petty, vested interests. And
if we do not subscribe to those, which, in
most cases, are anti-people, they turn the air blue with
insinuations and declamatory aggression. It's
akin to giving a dog a bad name and hanging him.
I take this opportunity to reiterate that this government will not indulge in a
single act that
impinges upon the interests of the common and poor people and will vehemently
protest if
someone else tries to do so. If necessary, we shall resist those acts with all
that we have. This is
the only credible yardstick that we have — sticking to our accountability and
responsibility to the
common people. The election manifesto that we released before the elections is
the Bible, the
Gita, the Quran and the Granth Sahib of this 'Ma-Mati-Manush' government. We shall
implement every promise that we made in the manifesto and will not budge an inch from
anything that we are morally bound to. So far, we have done nothing to betray the faith that the
people of the state have reposed in us or belie the accountability that we owe them. Our pledge has been, and will,
always be to remain faithful and accountable to the parliament of people.
Every day, we are pressurized to change our stand on many a thing, or at least
revise those. We
are threatened to do so from many quarters. A sustained and concerted campaign of
lies and
half-truths to malign us is the name of the game now They want to dent our
confidence and blur
our focus. But I am convinced, the people of Bengal do not believe in this
collective slander and
will defeat the sinister designs of all those who are scheming against us. The
people know that we
are a government for the weak and the forlorn. We are a government for the
oppressed and the
exploited. It is a government of the mother, the soil and the people. We are
determined to put words to their silent lips. We have committed ourselves to the
temple of freedom. That is our
politics. We are betrothed to the ideas of patriotism. We are not against reforms
and we are not blind.
We are entirely aware of the irreversible trends that globalization brings with it. But we are
firmly against any reform that brings joy to the few and gloom for the many. We will leave no stone
unturned to ensure such a skewed development does not occur.
In this short span of one year we have been able to keep all
our promises made to the people
through our election manifesto. We have attained this despite penury and near
financial bankruptcy
of the state. I believe, our achievements and fulfillment of promises should earn
us kudos that this
government richly deserves.
In the remaining years of our tenure, we will surely fulfill
all our pledges. Our effort would be to
do even more than what we had promised and surpass the expectations of the people. We have
never lost sight of our ultimate goal of bringing back those lost golden years in every sphere of
life in this state, and we are confident that we shall achieve it.
I have great pride in asserting that even in the face of
sustained non-cooperation and unfair and
discriminatory treatments from many quarters, our government
did not lose sight of its agenda
and mission even for a single day. We know we have a difficult path to tread. We
have had our highs
and lows. But we have not slipped even for once.
The success of this government should not be attributed to
the Chief Minister alone. On the
happy occasion of our first anniversary, I would like to share my joy, happiness
and pride with
every one associated with the State Government and its day-to-day functioning.
This is a success
story of the government as a whole, not of any individual. This is a success story
of all those who
are bound by their sense of duty and camaraderie. I am grateful to all my
ministerial colleagues, to
the Chief Secretary, all secretaries of all Government departments, their
subordinates at every level of administration. Without their unstinted help and
support, we could not have achieved
what we have achieved in this short span of time. I am
equally grateful to all officials who work at
the block and district levels, to all the District
Magistrates, the Sub Divisional Officers and Block
Development Officers, the Superintendents of Police, the
Deputy Superintendents of Police, the
Officers in Charge of numerous police stations spread across
the length and breadth of this state.
Finally, I share my joy and happiness with all the people of
West Bengal who remain, as always, our
greatest source of courage and our main pillar of strength.
On the day of our first anniversary, we renew our pledge to
serve our motherland with all that we
have, notwithstanding the challenges and hardships that we
face. We will permanently dump our
inheritance of darkness. We will give words to the dumb and
spine to the meek and will kindle a
new hope in every heart. We will make the proverbial words come true
again: 'What Bengal thinks
today, India thinks tomorrow'
I hope to continue to receive your whole-hearted co-operation in our endeavour.
Mamata Banerjee
Chief Minister
Government of West Bengal.
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