Taking stock of the functioning of various departments, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday attacked the Left Front rule in West Bengal, saying “practically no work” has been done.
On her second day in office, Ms. Banerjee said, “I called all the departments, particularly health, land and land reforms, power, agriculture and education.”
“It has become clear after having detailed discussions with the secretaries of the departments that practically no work has been done over many years during the Left Front’s rule,” she told reporters.
Getting down to business, the 56-year-old Chief Minister asked the battery of waiting cameramen not to follow her and allow her to work. “I have to do a lot of work. What is the use of taking so many pictures of me?” she asked lensmen while entering her office accompanied by city Mayor Sovan Chatterjee.
Arriving at the Writers’ Building at 12 noon, she held a series of meetings with the departments she holds to get first-hand knowledge of the state of affairs in the administration.
The Chief Minister will look after the portfolios of Home, Land and Land Reforms, Power, Agriculture, Hill Affairs and Minority Affairs. Ms. Banerjee, who has stated that she will have a Chief Minister’s Office on the lines of the PMO, said the CM’s Secretariat, would be expanded to facilitate speedy work.
The Chief Minister has convened a meeting of all DMs and SPs on Tuesday afternoon to review the overall law and order situation in the State. Meanwhile, the newly-appointed Ministers formally took charge and had meetings with their respective secretaries.
