Speculation is rife that the former TMC MP who made the leap to join BJP in 2019 may once again be hot for TMC
Speculation is rife that the former TMC MP who made the leap to join BJP in 2019 may once again be hot for TMC
Amid the ongoing crisis in the West Bengal jute industry, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Arjun Singh was summoned to New Delhi on Saturday and is likely to meet Union Textiles Minister Piyush Goyal. Mr Singh has been blaming the Center and the Jute Commissioner’s office for the plight of thousands of workers in the state’s jute mills. Over a dozen jute mills have shut down in the state in the last few months.
On Friday, the BJP MP from Barrackpore wrote a letter to chief ministers of jute producing and manufacturing states, including state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. “I am requesting you to intervene in this matter with the Union Textiles Ministry to save lakhs of jute farmers, jute workers and jute industry,” the BJP MP said in a letter to the state chief minister.
Earlier this week, the state BJP vice-president threatened to take to the streets and protest against the office of the Jute Commissioner of India if the problem was not resolved. According to the Barrackpore MP, the unavailability of raw materials and the price fixed by the JCO on raw jute are adding to the crisis.
There are about 60 jute mills in West Bengal and 20 mills are located in Barrackpore subdivision of North 24 Parganas district of the state. Before leaving for Delhi, Mr. Singh said he had received a call from the office of the Union Textiles Minister. The MP said that the issue of jute was a matter of life and death for him and asked that if the jute industry has suffered due to the policies of the Centre, then why would the people of the area (Barrackpore) continue to support the BJP?
more than meets the eye?
Meanwhile, speculation is rife in the political circles in the state that the BJP MP’s recent remarks may have something other than a crisis in the jute industry. A section of people from different political parties feel that Arjun Singh is trying to heat up the Trinamool Congress. Mr Singh was with TMC before joining BJP till 2019 and contested and won from Barrackpore seat.
A section of the Trinamool Congress leadership, including Rajya Sabha MP Dola Sen, who has been associated with the party’s trade union wing, has already started welcoming the BJP MP’s change in stand. The Indian National Trinamool Trade Union Congress (INTTUC), the labor wing of the Trinamool Congress, has announced a protest against the Jute Commissioner’s office following the BJP MP’s statement.
The uneasiness in the state BJP over the development also came to the fore when the party’s national vice president Dilip Ghosh targeted Mr. Singh. Mr Ghosh said it is not fair to blame Delhi for all the cases and those who have “benefited” from the jute industry should try to save the industry at the time of crisis. Mr. Ghosh was referring to Mr. Singh, who has been an important player in the jute industry.
Since May 2021, when the BJP lost the assembly elections to the TMC, several BJP leaders, including stalwarts like Babul Supriyo, switched sides.