Didi dip wish but jury out on why

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Calcutta, April 30: Bill passed, Mamata Banerjee is ready for a "dip in the Ganga" to let the now-confirmed "tension" dissolve, though none of her colleagues has yet lined up to take a purifying plunge. "I am relieved today. I had been thinking all these days what to do with so many people attacking our party on this issue. Now that the bill has been passed in the House, I feel like taking a dip in the Ganga…. Or at least, I can now go for a brisk walk," the chief minister said during an informal chat in her chamber in the Assembly minutes after the new bill to protect depositors was passed. The long-delayed legislation still has to clear several layers of procedures but Mamata also confirmed what has been suspected in the past few days. "I was so shaken, tense and worried about what will happen to so many people. Today I am relieved," she said. "Now I will be able to book people involved in such heinous crimes." The chief minister did not say if the book would also be thrown at some of her party colleagues whose names have been linked to the Saradha scandal. A dip in the Ganga is usually considered by religious-minded Hindus to be an act that washes off sins. But a Trinamul minister offered a more secular interpretation. "The chief minister wanted to drive home the point that her efforts to frame the anti-fraud bill with alacrity and get it passed by the Assembly in such a short time was a stupendous task, which warranted a cool dip in the Ganga," the minister said. Clues that otherwise would have been labelled routine were put forth as evidence of the chief minister's deep concern. She was present in the Assembly when the bill was piloted this morning and she returned to the House later when finance minister Amit Mitra was about to give the final reply. Both instances were not too common, considering the chief minister's record of staying away from the House and not taking many questions. The expressions of concern were in sharp contrast with the response of some of her senior colleagues who have parroted the line "law will take its course" or sought safety in stony silence. With the bill passed, Mamata appeared somewhat relieved because she has something to show the people when she hits the streets later this week to launch an attack on the Left for its inaction against sham companies. Sipping tea in her Assembly chamber while getting ready to attend a Town Hall event this evening, Mamata said that the bill would help her tackle the menace of fraud funds and address the interests of depositors and agents. "This bill will give immense powers to the state government to give justice to the depositors and agents. Now we will conduct raids, searches, seizures and also confiscate property and pay back the cheated depositors. The passage of the bill will help me do all this now," the chief minister said. Asked whether getting presidential assent for the bill could be a time-consuming affair, Mamata said that she would try to get it done at the earliest. The chief minister added that she was expecting the Centre to be "alert and prompt'' in protecting the interests of depositors. "My finance minister (Amit Mitra) and chief secretary (Sanjay Mitra) will reach Delhi on May 5 to get the bill signed by the governor who is now abroad…. I hope, considering the gravity of the situation, the Centre will be alert and prompt in clearing it. It should happen within a month,'' said the chief minister. She thanked the President for helping the government with advice to withdraw an earlier bill. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130501/jsp/frontpage/story_16847564.jsp#.UYKSVKKBlA0