Form of words:
Kolkata: In the two months since the Mamata Banerjee government came to power, Amit Mitra, the unelected finance minister and second most important cabinet member in West Bengal, continues to rely on the e-governance platform he championed even before the Covid pandemic. started.
The 74-year-old minister has not attended office in the past 17 months, and has even skipped budget presentations and assembly meetings due to “gravely comical circumstances”.
A close aide of the minister told ThePrint that Mitra’s lungs were “compromised” and he was suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
To make up for his physical absence, Mitra, who has been working mostly from home since the pandemic began, virtually attends meetings and uses digital noting through digital signatures and e-file systems as the primary method of governance across departments. made as.
A senior government official said the finance minister changed the tendering process of all departments to e-tendering, which has also helped in curbing corruption and malpractices.
Mitra, who has been the chairman of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) council of state finance ministers, has even attended GST meetings, writing pertinent letters to the Union finance minister and press conferences on national issues. There are conferences, but it’s all through video conference.
A senior government official said that due to his health condition, Mitra is not meeting any official or any of his cabinet colleagues, including the chief minister, in person.
“We are not aware of any physical meeting between him and the Chief Minister even during this period. Told the Chief Minister in a detailed note about the medical reasons and why he would not be able to come,” the official said. “So, the chief minister talks to him over the phone or virtually, if he needs any advice on issues related to finance or GST.”
However, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing.
“Electronic filing is effective only if the files pertain to regular development. It has been a standard procedure in all departments,” said a second government official.
“But there are some files which we need weekly disposal. Also, if there is any policy decision or formulation of some new schemes, the minister needs to check a lot of things physically. In the last 16 months, we have been managing through virtual meetings. “
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‘Difficult to keep up’
Mitra is now living at his South Kolkata residence, from where he serves as the state’s finance minister.
Ahead of the elections this year, the 74-year-old had also held the charge of the state’s industries and commerce department.
Mitra got only the finance portfolio after the Trinamool Congress came to power for the third time in May. The state’s Industries and Commerce Department went to Partha Chatterjee.
However, the opposition feels that the 74-year-old may find it difficult to continue given his health.
CPI(M)’s Ashim Dasgupta, himself a former Bengal finance minister, said, “I don’t know how he is managing like this. The Finance Minister needs to do a lot of work. We saw that he could not even attend the assembly and presenting the budget.
Dasgupta, who served as the state’s finance minister for 24 years, claimed that he used to draft the budget every year on his own.
“I used to take inputs from all the department secretaries but prepare the budget draft myself. For this also one has to go to office and work.” “But he is unwell, we have heard so, there is nothing to comment on that.”
Former Chief Economic Advisor and BJP MLA Ashok Lahiri said, “It is unfortunate that he is not feeling well. But we all understand how difficult it is for him and the department to work like this. We have read in the media that he expressed his reluctance to continue as the Finance Minister.
The Print sent a detailed questionnaire to Mitra and his office, but did not receive a response till the time of publication of this report.
Term ends in November
Mitra, who received nearly 50 per cent of the total vote share in North 24 Parganas’ Khardaha assembly constituency in 2016, refused to contest this year’s election.
He is also unlikely to contest a by-election, which is necessary for him to remain a minister. If not elected, Mitra will have to contest the election before November as per constitutional rules.
TMC sources, however, said that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was not ready to release him.
State Panchayat and Rural Affairs Minister Subrata Mukherjee told ThePrint that Dr Mitra could be accommodated in a different capacity through which he can oversee the state’s finances.
“If Dr Mitra does not contest the election, the government may issue a special order appointing him as an advisor to the chief minister,” Mukherjee said. “In that case, the CM can retain the finance department. We are yet to hear of any discussion on Dr Mitra’s replacement.”
Trinamool state general secretary Kunal Ghosh told ThePrint that Mitra is the chief minister’s most trusted aide in matters of finance.
“Didi loves him and depends on him a lot. She always goes to her Amit Slave For any finance or industry related advice,” he said. “Didi knew Dr Mitra for over a decade when he was the Secretary General of FICCI. When she was the Railway Minister, she worked for Didi. It’s a relationship of trust.”
Ghosh said it was Mitra who helped the state overcome the financial challenges caused by the three decades of Left rule.
“Our government has inherited a heavy burden from the Left, but Dr Mitra always found a way to repay the debt and at the same time continue the development work,” he said. “Therefore, we still do not have any information about his replacement. If Didi takes a decision on this, she will announce it.
The Trinamool general secretary also said that the state now tops the country in implementing the e-governance system.
“Didi always encouraged this and Dr Mitra implemented this system to bring in complete transparency,” Ghosh said. “Bengal is one of the few states that has introduced a new social security scheme through such a system even during the pandemic.”
(Edited by Arun Prashant)
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