“Mostly, they end up listening to her, as they try to make place their suggestions,” admitted a Ministerial colleague of the Chief Minister, in deadpan fashion. Working with the Chief Minister can be quite an experience, as most have found out.

The experience of one Minister is instructive. In the third week of July, he presented an economic plan intended to bail out the state from its dire financial crisis. Something about his document — maybe its contents, maybe its composition, or perhaps the stationery used — upset her. “This is absolute rubbish!” she said, flinging it onto the table in front of her.

Shocked, the Minister rose with what dignity he could muster and said, ”If you do not like it, please get someone else to work out something. From tomorrow, I will attend my local office in my constituency.” Then he left.

Fortunately, the story did not end on this note. Ministerial chambers at the state Secretariat are being renovated and redecorated. Grapevine has it that the highest expenditure has been allocated for this particular Minister’s Chamber!

His experience is by no means unique. Some time ago, another Minister, an old Trinamool hand, one of Ms Banerjee’s trusted “faithfuls” learnt of the downside of a Minister’s life, this time at the Trinamool party office.

A high ranking Central government official had turned up for a meeting with Ms Banerjee. It being a warm day, Ms Banerjee, ever the gracious host, asked the visitor to take a seat and then asked the Minister to fetch a glass of water! Addressed personally, the man had little choice but to do as he was bid. Having done his duty, he then retired to the ante chamber, muttering to himself…..The source of this story is the officially appointed driver to the Minister who happened to be present in the ante chamber and obviously ignorant of the professional requirements of official secrecy !.

As a left wing paper points out, during the first 68 days of her tenure, Ms Banerjee has appointed 40 new committees. They will monitor, supervise and make suggestions to improve work on a variety of initiatives: from setting up computer hardware facilities to helping cable operators. These are in addition to the Committees she had set up within the railways Ministry, to help improve services and standards of catering, etc.

The 84-member committee set up to supervise and help improve the working of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation has met only once so far at the historic Town hall. Members, who include eminent people, like Gautam Ghosh film director and economist Abhirup Sarkar do not know when the second meeting will be held. Nor do they recall what happened at their first meet, where some members met each other for the first time!

As for the Railway-related committees, most newspapers have commented on the continuing decline of quality in the food served, not to mention the lapses in security. Members of these committees draw a salary of Rs 50,000 plus allowances and facilities, although some do not charge for their work.

Pressed by newsmen on the effectiveness of such committees, Ms Banerjee offers a convoluted defence. . “There is need of expert advice, so we need them”, she said, adding, ”Why, I have dismissed all earlier committees set up by the CPI(M)!”

Last month, Ms Banerjee announced the setting up of four more commissions of Inquiry to probe the massacre of Naxalites in Cossipore, near Kolkata in the early 70s and the more recent mysterious death of BDO Kallol Sur, who was trying to crackdown on local corruption in his area of posting, among other matters.

In all, six Enquiry commissions have been set up so far. The most serious incident, the shocking massacre in the Sain household in Burdwan in 1970, would also be probed. The ferocity of the left-backed killers, sponsored and approved by the CPI(M), had brought the left movement itself into disrepute.

To date however, the commission appointed to probe the murder of the Sains has not met even once! In fact, Commission authorities have just moved the government for instructions as to what they should do, seeing that they have neither an office, nor furniture even to get started!

However, it is not yet the time to abandon all hope. As one official explained, ”Now that the centre has finally worked out a package for the state, things will certainly start to move.” They’d better. (IPA Service)