The term ‘harmad' (hired armed goons) — popularised by her party in its references to violence allegedly resorted to by activists of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and which has entered the local political lexicon much to the chagrin of the latter — was used once again by Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Sunday.
Ridiculing West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee taking exception to the use of the term by Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram in one of his recent letters to him — where he claimed that armed gangs were operating under the shelter of the CPI(M) — Ms. Banerjee charged the Left Front government with being one “of the harmads, by the harmads and for the harmads.”
She was speaking at a rally in Sonarpur in South 24 Parganas district.
Mr. Bhattacharjee also referred to the term at a rally organised by the Left Front in Howrah district, where he expressed displeasure at its use by Mr. Chidambaram.
Alleging that the Left Front government had failed on all fronts and charging it with leading the State into bankruptcy, Ms. Banerjee said the government was not even in a position to pay salaries to its employees and was having to depend on the “kindness” of the Centre, even as she asserted that its tenure in power was limited.
Ms. Banerjee also blamed the Left Front government for introducing contract labour and promising “permanent jobs” to its employees as a sop with an eye on the coming Assembly polls.
“The people are saying ‘go' to this government which only lies, has no files, no jobs, and no future plans,” she said, appealing to State employees to come forward and help in ushering in a change in government in West Bengal.
Observing that the Left Front “comes out with a separate agenda with each every election,” she pointed out that the most recent agenda was ‘Mao,' ‘Mao,' when “what we are saying is jao [go], jao .”
