The facts speak for themselves. Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram recently told a delegation from the Trinamool Congress that met him in Delhi that he had written to the state Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee three letters about the worsening law and order situation. There was no reply, only acknowledgement of his messages, said Mr. Chidambaram.

Not that any reply from the state government would have served much purpose. Earlier, when the Union Home Minister sent a fairly long letter expressing his concern, Bhattacharjee's reaction verged on the flippant — he sent a very short reply and for good measure, told newsmen that he had sent a “short reply “ to a “long message” from Delhi! On another occasion, he criticised Mr. Chidambaram on the quality of his English — an area Bhattacharjee should have been advised not to tread, because clearly Chidambaram was on far stronger ground.

Amidst all this cheap point scoring, governance suffered. On Bhattacharjee's own admission in the state assembly, political violence had claimed over 2200 lives in the state last year, which surely did not exactly add to his image as the head of the state. And yet, there were and are, daily clashes between rival political groups from Kolkata to Jalpaiguri, with the police, under Bhattacharjee, remaining bystanders. This was precisely what Chidambaram was trying to point out to him, without avail.

And it is not just a question of maintaining law and order. Other Ministers also follow their chief dutifully in maintaining a tradition of gross inefficiency. Last May, a senior official from the Union Agriculture Ministry visited Kolkata to urge upon the state government the need to take proactive measures for farmers in case the monsoon failed. He suggested a series of steps, including cultivation of alternative crops, and timely distribution of seeds.

Four months later, now that drought has been officially declared in 11 districts, and the state has - what else? — promptly approached the centre for financial help , the official visited Kolkata again for talks. He was shocked to learn that not a single step suggested by him had been taken by the state Agriculture Ministry run by the Forward Bloc! The state's belated attempt to acquire seeds for certain crops failed because other states had placed their orders in time and were now receiving delivery.

Bhattacharjee did not have the temerity even to issue a mild public rebuke to Minister Naren De, because he has lost the authority to lead or rule.

Now comes the escape from CID custody of Nicole Tamang, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha “leader” (like other “leaders” of the GJM, this man has several criminal cases pending against him), from CID”s custody from Pintel village resort near Siliguri. Tamang is wanted in connexion with the daylight killing of senior All India Gorkha League leader Madan Tamang at a public rally. The AIGL has been waging a battle against the GJM .Tamang had threatened to expose the financial corruption of top GJM leaders, when he was silenced. Nicole was arrested after a long search from an area close to the Sikkim border.

As news of his “escape” spread, political turmoil followed. The state ordered a routine inquiry, suspending two low level constables, while red-faced senior officials remained tight lipped. AIGL leader Bharati, widow of Madan, claimed that the state was in a conspiracy with the GJM to divert attention from the murder, a charge that many people found credible. Meanwhile the beleaguered GJM, now under pressure in the hills from all quarters, promptly called a bandh in the hills. All because of the lack of minimum efficiency of two constables who could not guard a person! Bhattacharjee remained silent.

On the sensitive question of arresting infiltration from Bangladesh, a visiting Central team recently noted that there was a specific complaint from the Haridaspur checkpost of North 24 Parganas in West Bengal. It was alleged that state officials there were extremely lax in tackling infiltration, which had increased of late. The team suggested that if the state found it difficult to deal with its duties, the centre was willing to help. There has been no response from the West Bengal government.

Two directives from the Kolkata High Court further added to the never ending woes of a rudderless administration. Taking cognizance of the plight of poor villagers hit by the Aila cyclone 15 months ago, the High Court directed the government to declare what steps it had taken to help the people in their rehab efforts. Over 60,00,000 people in the coastal districts had been hit, their homes destroyed, their plots and ponds under saline water for a long time. Over 70% households have seen their menfolk, even women, migrate to other states as daily labour. The state demanded Rs 1000 crore from the centre, received part of it, but there have been widespread complaints that no money or help had reached the villagers.

The high court also struck down the promotion ordered by the state government for four senior police officials, superseding the claims of two more senior officers. The latter moved court, citing normal service rules. The allegation of favouritism when it came to promoting officers had long been leveled against the state government. Now it plans to challenge the directive at a higher level.

Even in the matter of demanding help from the centre for the drought affected districts, the government has not done minimum homework. Among the 11 affected districts, not all have been uniformly affected. Department officials point out that West Midnapore, Bankura, Purulia and parts of North and South 24 Parganas have been hit harder than others, because of lack of irrigation facilities. If a central team visits other areas, it may conclude that the situation is not as bad as was projected. This would create a fresh centre-state controversy, given the state's poor administrative record.

A major newspaper observes, “It seems the entire administration under Bhattacharjee has gone to seed because the administrators know they will not remain in power very long. They need reminding that there is still some time left for the Assembly elections. Surely, they can try and work harder?” (IPA Service)