TMC stays noncommittal on minister’s release

KOLKATA: Piyush Tiwari could not decide if he should rush to Madan Mitra’s residence on Sunday morning or wait to gauge the political wind blowing from Kalighat.
The 32-year-old member of Trinamool’s trade wing and resident of Hazra in south Kolkata was a regular feature when his “political mentor” Mitra was interrogated by the CBI last year and also when he was admitted to SSKM after his arrest.
But late on Sunday morning when it became clear that Mitra would be heading home after being released from the hospital, Tiwari was caught in a dilemma.
“When dada was arrested, the party expressed its solidarity with him. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee led a procession to protest his arrest. But after the court granted him bail yesterday, no senior leader has issued any public statement that gives an indication of the party’s stand. So for the time being it is be wise to stay away from dada’s house,” Tiwari lamented.
The party’s ambiguous stance has also acquired significance in the context of opposition’s campaign that Mitra’s bail is a tacit understanding between Mamata and Narendra Modi.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday refused to comment on Mitra’s bail saying, “It was a court matter. I cannot comment on it.”
Only party MP Subhendu Adhikary called up Mitra on Saturday evening to congratulate him over his release on bail. Hours after party secretary-general Partha Chatterjee said Mitra was falsely implicated by CBI, Adhikary called up Mitra enquiring on his well being. “Yes, I did call him. He was falsely implicated to further a political mandate by CBI. I enquired about his health.” The only cabinet colleague who called Mitra was Malda’s Krishnendu Narayan Chowdhury.
“The party is taking its time on deciding its position on Madan’s bail. Assembly elections are due in a few months and party does not want to take any chances that may affect it adversely. Opposition has already starting emphasising that Mitra’s bail is due to a tacit understanding between didi and Modi,’ said a senior TMC leader.
It was due to the absence of any clear indication from Kalighat that the mood outside Mitra’s 32B Dhirendranath Ghosh residence was not as buoyant and celebratory as many had expected.
Forty odd students of Bhairab Ganguly College in Belghoria were disappointed to discover that they were the only big group to have come to their leader’s residence on Sunday afternoon.
“We were expecting to run into a big crowd of dada’s supporters celebrating his release from jail by bursting crackers and raising slogans. But it was surprising that there was hardly any party worker outside his house. We were the only big group to have arrived,” said Netai Pal, a second year commerce student.
In the absence of any senior party leader outside Mitra’s residence, Pal and his friends stood in several scattered groups speculating their future course of action over endless cups of tea.
“We have no clue what to do next. There is no senior party leader to guide us. We do not know if we are supposed to raise slogans in the praise of dada or move away from here quietly,” said Sayan Mullick, Pal’s classmate.
In South Bishnupur off Diamond Harbour Road, Mitra’s supporters played with abir on the road.