Bengal: 'If he was my Party’s Worker, I Would Have Slapped him Four Times', Mamata Tells DM

Political circles are shocked by remarks made by the West Bengal Chief Minister to the District Magistrate (DM) of Purulia on Monday. Reacting to allegations of corruption against the district administration, CM Mamata Banerjee said to DM Rahul Majumder, "How are those people so greedy after having everything? How much more do they want? If he was my party’s worker, I would have dragged him and slapped him four times. I always control my party members.”

The interaction between Majumder and the CM took place at the administrative meeting, which was held to discuss various state government projects. Earlier, during the meeting, it was alleged that revenue from the local brick kiln did not match. After hearing the complaint, the Chief Minister addressed the district magistrate, and said—"Where is the revenue collected from the brick kiln? This was not done by Trinamool. The lower level employees of the administration are causing these incidents. How are you (District Magistrate) running the District? The matter has to be looked into".

In this regard, Rajya Sabha MP of the opposition Communist Party of India (Marxist) and senior advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya wrote on his social media account: "A district governor, of course IAS, He was told by the Chief Minister in a public meeting that he would be slapped him if he is a member of her party. If not the Chief Minister!? Is the chief secretary or chief adviser waiting for two slaps? This is your (IAS officers’) self-respect! So scared of Gundarani (gangster queen)?"

In a video statement, CPI(M) Central Committee Member Sujan Chakraborty said, "... I say to the Chief Minister, many of the MLAs, MPs, ministers of your party, whose property has increased five times, seven times, ten times, twenty times in the last ten years by looting, how many of them have you slapped?"

The chief minister also saw the files of various government work in that meeting. Expressing dissatisfaction, she said, "A lot of work is said to be under process. What does this under process mean? Pending work must be completed immediately”.

CM Banerjee is also not happy with the work of Block Land & Land Reforms Officers (BLROs). "People are being harassed when they go to the BLRO office. They are being forced to work through brokers," she said. After the meeting, Banerjee warned that strict action would be taken against anyone who harasses the people. She also directed the BLROs to resolve within the next three months the issues of those who have not got mutations for their land.

Incidentally, this is not the first time. Several times, the CM has used abusive language to government officials. In 2013, Banerjee publicly screamed and reprimanded her security guard. On Milan Mela complex of Kolkata, CM told sergeant of the special branch, K K Dwivedi, that he should be whipped for making her wait for her car. She infamously said, “Chabkano uchit apnader (you people should be whipped).”