“Will the government now step in to oversee how people use facebook, email or SMS?”
On a day a professor of the city's Jadavpur University was arrested for forwarding e-mails with humorous reference to Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee replacing Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi with Mukul Roy, Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Surya Kanta Mishra questioned here on Friday the State government's sense of self-esteem. He wondered whether it was as “fragile” as to take recourse to such a step to preserve it.
“Such a measure is laughable, childish and certainly points to an authoritarian trend of the State government,” said Dr. Mishra, who is also a member of the Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
Taking a dig at the Trinamool Congress' slogan of “Ma, Mati, Manus (the mother, the land and the people),” Dr. Mishra said mothers were expected to raise their children “strong as steel,” but in this situation it appeared that they were being raised with the strength of “wet clay.”
“Is the esteem of the State government so fragile that it will be affected by something so insignificant? Will the government now step in to oversee how people use facebook, email or SMS,” asked Dr. Mishra.
Speaking about the emails, he said that they were nothing but “plain and simple humour” and the State government taking it seriously was “laughable.”
“The one thing that they have managed to do is to propagate the very thing they considered defamatory,” Dr. Mishra said. He himself had never seen the emails before and the controversy had now ensured that thousands of others would see it.
He said that much ado was being made over the 34 years of Left rule in West Bengal, but in the years that the Left Front was in power such an incident was “unimaginable.”
Keywords: Mamata cartoon, cyber crime, political arrests, Railway minister change, freedom of expression, press freedom
Whatever the reason the people of bengal who voted out the Left from power, i feel it was purely illogical. They voted a party who does not a national identity and they voted a chief minister who thinks that she is the queen of all she surveys. The left still command around 40% of the electorate and for sure the votes are of secular and progressive nature. The left will return in the next assembly elections. There may have been some anomalies during the marxist rule but compared to other states where law and order has gone awry and the working class, the toiling masses and the landless get some respite, it is only in Bengal, Kerala and Tripura the the left has done only good what other governments could not. The bourgeois media and capitalist and fascist forces are all out to humiliate the left but it will never succeed.
I Just wonder, How a persons like this got elected to Chief Minister post... !!! Great Democracy !!! Great Waste Bengal !!!
Observing the series of events in West Bengal. I feel Mamtaji has more
time for small things and less time for BIG issues prevailing in the
state. Kudos to your vision and mission to keep west bengal the way it has
been for years.
Just a passing remark. Hope the Prof will henceforth spent more time with teaching and research in the lab instead of fiddling with internet. Being a science professor I wonder whether learned man ever published any worthwhile paper in authentic journal. Jadavpur had a good reputation in some discipline particularly in the science. Arts and literature in recent times was a hot bed of commy pseudo intelectuals;remember Mr Pabitra sarkar (Dr)great friend of Bhattacherjee ex CM West Bengal?
Mr. Mishra is right. The previous regime was bad but it never interfered with democratic rights of the citizens. Now with Mamata Banerjee coming to power we are witnessing a trampling upon of those rights be it gag on circulation of newspapers that apparently don't speak Mamata's language and thrashing of those who express their discontent with the ruling party and its chief as the Jadavpur incident shows. Mamata Banerjee has been brought to power by the people of West Bengal in the hope of promoting development and not to right rough shod over their interests. If she thinks she can take our support as a licence to carry on with her personal agenda it will not be late before she gets thrown out of her Chair.
Mamata Bannerjee and her government have a long way to go in terms of
maturity and being politically level headed.
After 34 years of left rule in wes Bengal , People made the change in state for a breath of fresh air , but alas Ms Bannerjee is breaking this trust . It took 34 years for the Left to make the people disillusioned about their promises and visions but Ms Banerjee is managing an incredible feat of disillusioning people in just 6 months. People of West bengal are known to be one of the most intelligent , can someone advise her and tell her that through this steps she is undermining her own credentials.
The true mindset of our politicians.. congress is discrete in hiding it while TMC isn't.
That such insignificant FW. picture in Facebook could create so much fuss is incomprehensible.It is a slur on the democratic values and practices being followed world-over.
Very rightly said that "the controversy had now ensured that
thousands of others would see it." Like Kurt Westergaard Danish
cartoonist who created the controversial cartoon of the Islamic
prophet, Ambikesh Mahapatra and Sengupta of Jadhavpur University have
attained instant fame and millions who were never aware of their
cartoon will be viewing it now. Quite deserving, Mamata has become a
laughing stock of entire nation. Unintended consequence of foot in
the mouth disease!
Mamta Banerjee has forgotten that in the union republic of India everone
has the right of freedom of expression.When the TMS workers burn
effigies or pass comments on other parties where are Mamta's rule.This
is merely a dictatorship rather then a democratic way to run a govt.
which of the people,by the people and for the people.
I did comment before about that Govt ordered to English papers in Libraries and alone will put state backwards and now some cartoon/comments made the Govt to arrest people and this shows this Chief minister is not able to take heat of the kitchen and it is better to leave to another able minded person to lead the State.Otherwise West Bengal will be a great loser in every aspects that will affect the people who elected her and it will harm them economically/politically and the State will not move forwards.
Mr. Mishra is trying to be innocent!! The whole affair is being hyped up!. A few points that I gathered from news reports. This teacher had sent the mail from a different mail id (the mail id of the secretary of the housing society he lives in!), which apparently indicates he wanted to hide his identity. Secondly, he sent it to about 69 people. Now we all sent out mails. I have never marked a mail to more than 10 persons. If I want to circulate it further, I request others to forward it. The entire public sector in Bengal had been politicized by the left and these are the moles which can't be evicted. Right from CEOs in govt. enterprises to lowly peons, everybody was a 'comrade' in the left regime. The law and order was taken over by CPM cadres. Mamata is trying to establish the rule of law. I guess this arrest was a warning to the CPM cadres who are remnants of the old regime and try to damage it from inside. A govt. employee (our professor), by definition, is subservient to the CM.
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