Mamata Banerjee is the eighth Chief Minister of the eastern Indian state of West Bengal and the first woman to hold this office. She founded the Trinamool Congress in 1998 after splitting from the Indian National Congress and has represented the Bhabanipur constituency in the state assembly since 2011.
When Mamata Banerjee first joined the Congress (I) in the 1970s, she rose to be the General Secretary of the State Mahila Congress (I) from 1976 to 1980. She has previously served as an MP for Kolkata South in the Lok Sabha and was the Union Minister of State for Human Resources Development, Youth Affairs and Sports, and Women and Child Development under the P.V. Narasimha Rao government.
One of the defining moments in Mamata Banerjee’s political career was her involvement in the Singur and Nandigram movements. These movements — centered around land acquisition issues, particularly the acquisition of agricultural land for industrial projects — saw her rise as a leader and advocate for the rights of farmers and local communities in Bengal’s Singur and Nandigram districts. She received widespread support, eventually leading to the downfall of the 34-year-old Left Front government in West Bengal and her ascent to power.
TMC has always harboured Islamists in it’s ranks. When Hasina was in power in Bangladesh, she repeatedly complained that Islamists of all shades and hues were finding refuge across the border in West Bengal. Jihadi terrorists and hardline Islamic clergy in Bangladesh, who were being hunted by the security agencies of Bangladesh, quite conveniently crossed the border and found refuge in Bengal. Under the patronage of TMC leaders, these Jihadi militants and fanatics prospered in West Bengal. They used Indian Bengal as a base to carry out attacks in Bangladesh and to destabilize the Bangladeshi government.
Despite repeated pleas to Mamata Banerjee, she refused to act against these Jihadi elements. Instead, she continued with her patronage of these Islamic fanatics.
So, it comes as no surprise that Firhad Hakim made such statements.
Firhad Hakim has always been a rabidly communal politician. He is the one responsible for swamping Calcutta with illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Currently, there are lakhs of illegal immigrants in Calcutta. Mostly they are concentrated in colonies such as Gulshan in Kasba and other Muslim dominated localities – Kidderpore, Park Circus, etc.
Firhad Hakim’s blessings have meant that the police are powerless in this aspect. They simply don’t have the permission to act against these known illegal immigrants.
As part of TMC’s strategy to win elections, the state govt officials, under instruction from their respective ministers, arrange for Aadhar cards, PAN and other documents for these illegals. Once done, these people are registered as voters with the ECI. As soon as the voter ID is issued, they become assets of the TMC – voting for it in every single election and providing it with street muscle power.
And Mr. Firhad Hakim has all along been in-charge of the entire program.
One can only hope that the Census, scheduled in 2025, will accurately represent the dramatic shift in demography across the cities and villages of West Bengal.