SILCHAR, August 21: Silchar District Congress Committee president Karnendu Bhattacharjee’s exit from the post, rather left a void which his successor Arun Dutta Majumdar did not seem to fill in adequately. Bhattacharjee was a two time Rajya Sabha MP, thanks to his mentor, former Union Minister Sontosh Mohan Dev. As an MP, Bhattacharjee did not live upto expectations. Though not applauded for his performance as MP, Bhattacharjee was remarkable as DCC president for his command over party leaders and workers. He was capable of running a party like Congress.
On the other hand, Dutta Majumdar was a die-hard Congress man, a disciplined soldier, his integrity beyond any doubt. But so far leadership is concerned, Dutta Majumdar was not made of the stuff that makes a worker the leader. Within the fortnight of his assuming the post of DCC president, Silchar Congress found itself in the most serious crisis in recent times.
The day Dutta Majumadar took over charges, the six-member BJP moved a no-confidence motion against the Silchar Municipality Board chairperson Susmita Dev and her deputy Vijendra Prasad Singh.
Surprisingly, seven Congress Ward Commissioners as well as two Independents also handed over a letter to Dutta Majumdar stating that they too had lost confidence in Susmita and Vijendra .
Surprisingly, Dutta Majumdar, being the DCC president, accepted the letter which had two Independents as signatories. So the question is, could a Congress president accept the letter from an Independent people’s representative who expressed no-confidence against a Congress chairperson? There was no proper answer from Dutta Majumdar to this question. Secondly, he had seven days time before the no-confidence motion was put into vote, but surprisingly, he failed to convene a meeting of the Congress Ward Commissioners.
Thirdly, Urban Development Minister Dinesh Prasad Goala returned to Silchar and he was received by thousands of Congress workers. Later, Goala addressed a rally at Congress Bhavan. Surprisingly, DCC president Dutta Majumdar allowed Kamalendu Bhattacharjee to deliver a lecture on the occasion. How could a DCC president allow someone to share the dais inside the Congress complex who was expelled from the party and contested elections on AIDUF ticket ? Dutta Majumdar, too, did not have any answer.
Fourthly, the fiasco in the Congress office on Friday was also an instance of Dutta Majumdar’s inability to rise to the occasion. The APCC emissary had told Dutta Majumdar to inform Sontosh Mohan Dev to wait in his room and he would be invited later to the scheduled press conference. Dutta Majumdar, as evident, did not inform Dev. When the senior Congress leader appeared at the venue, he was asked by Sarkar not to share the dais. This was an insult for a senior leader like Dev who lambasted Sarkar. The obvious question that erupted was why did Dutta Majumdar not inform Dev? Was it a part of a greater conspiracy? (THE SENTINEL)