Will Didi flex muscles against Modi?

PASCHIMBANGA Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, popularly known as Didi, is very fond of flexing muscles. She first demonstrated her muscle power by opposing the Teesta water sharing agreement with Bangladesh in 2012. Manmohan, then heading a coalition government, returned to Delhi without signing the highly publicized Teesta agreement. Didi triumphed.

During the last general election, Didi challenged the Election Commission (EC) for ordering the transfer of four IPS and three IAS officers in Paschimbanga without consulting her. She publicly declared, “I will not remove a single officer. Let the EC come and arrest me. I throw this challenge to the EC.” The powerful EC put a deadline for implementation of the transfer order. Didi yielded.

She is in a difficult position now dealing with the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi which handed over the probe of the blasts in Burdwan to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) bypassing the state government. It is alleged that the bombs assembled in Burdwan were meant for terror strikes in Bangladesh. Didi complained of an increasing trend of interference in state matters since the new government led by Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party took over. This is "unprecedented, undemocratic and unethical", she wrote on her Facebook page. Who will yield now?

Narendra Modi is not Manmohan Singh. The former has an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha. He is not dependent on Didi like Manmohan was. Modi needs to find out who provided a safe sanctuary to the Bangladeshi terrorists assembling bombs in Burdwan. There are also allegations of collusion between the Jamaat-e-Islami of Bangladesh and the Trinamool Congress of Mamata Banerjee. According to available reports, Jamaat secretly helped Trinamool with huge funds before 2011 and a Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP returned the favour to Jamaat during their agitations against the war crimes trials.

Was Didi aware of the terrorists' activities in Burdwan? Both 'yes' or 'no' answer to this tricky question will be equally embarrassing to her. Under the circumstances, she is most unlikely to have the moral strength to flex muscles against Modi. Nobody should be surprised if she even softens her stubborn attitude towards the Teesta water sharing agreement and the land boundary agreement with Bangladesh. After all, it is the prerogative of the central government to deal with such issues and the decision is normally taken in the interest of the country. Why should Modi allow interference by a state in central issues? Didi should also appreciate that anything good for India should be good for her. The vice versa may not always be true.

The writer is a former chief engineer of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission.