Mamata Banerjee takes charge of minority department

Department is deemed crucial in a state where minorities form a third of the electorate

Mamata Banerjee.: File photo

TT Special Correspondent   |   Calcutta   |    28.03.23 : Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday assumed the charge of the minority affairs and madrasa education department from cabinet colleague Md. Ghulam Rabbani.

The department is deemed crucial in a state where minorities form a third of the electorate. The development came in the wake of the Trinamul Congress’s defeat in the bypoll in the Sagardighi Assembly segment, prompting the ruling party to find out if its minority support eroded or not.

Mamata also entrusted minister of state Tajmul Hossain — currently the junior minister of the MSME and textiles departments — with additional charge as the junior minister of minority affairs and madarsa education.

Congress candidate BaironBiswas, backed by the Left, won the bypoll by 22,986 votes, defeating Trinamul’s Debasish Banerjee.

Sources said although Trinamul’s internal assessment suggested that the defeat was a one-off case of upset and the party’s minority support base was intact, Mamata has decided to intensify vigil and make timely changes, to leave nothing to chance.

“She believes in the principle of ‘if you want something done right, do it yourself’. With the panchayat polls knocking on our door, she did not want to leave anything to chance,” said a source in her party.

“She personally handled the department for a decade(since coming to power in 2011). In the third term (since 2021), she entrusted Rabbani with the responsibility. His performance has not been satisfactory, according to her. So, she is taking command, again,” he added.

The cabinet rejig came within 10 days of the political reshuffle, in which the Trinamul chief appointed ItaharMLA Mosaraf Hossain as the chief of the party’s minority cell, replacing the incumbentHaji Nurul Islam.

Exactly three weeks ago, on March 6, she had placed Rabbani in the committee to examine the minority support situation in the wake of Sagardighi.

The five-member committee of Muslim ministers, led by Siddiqullah Chowdhury, submitted a report to her a couple of weeks ago.

“The report, which she agreed with, did not really mention anything earth-shattering, and basically talked about widely-known issues such as factional feuds, discontent over some lapses in the distribution of benefits of welfare schemes, the hand-in-glove approach of the Opposition towards us, and general dislike towards theSagardighi candidate,” said a minister.