Evicting Hawkers? Not a Chance!

Anindya Bhattacharya

Shortly after the declaration of the Lok Sabha elections, WB Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee convened a high-level meeting at Nabanna. While that meeting saw her express dissatisfaction over some matters, in the meeting that followed on the 24th of June, the CM assumed the very form of fury–fury which spared none, from her party, her government, to the bureaucrats, and the police. In an unforeseen change of tune, Banerjee seemed to take on the role and rhetoric of the Opposition, issuing rapid and unexpected orders.

While the opposition forces were still hesitating over their response to this undoubtedly novel phenomenon, administrative actions as per instructions were rapidly underway. Demolition of illegal structures began in Howrah, and the TMC block president in Dabgram-Phulbari was arrested on charges of encroaching and running a business on government-owned land. The BJP party office in Taratala and Trinamool party office in Manton were bulldozed for encroaching upon government-owned land and the road respectively. Besides, there has been a massive, state-wide police operation to clear roads and footpaths–temporary shops have been bulldozed, hawkers have been driven back to occupy one-third of the footpath through pushbacks and miking by the police. The bulldozer operation was entirely uncalled for, and in the face of rising protests from the hawkers’ unions, the Chief Minister called another meeting at Nabanna on June 27 to review the situation. This time, representatives of the hawkers’ unions were invited to attend the meeting.

In the June 27 meeting, the Chief Minister stated that she was against the two-facedness of the police, who would receive bribes from the hawkers and allow them a place, and yet now turned to evict them under government orders. Clarifying that eviction of hawkers was not her objective, she assured that the evicted hawkers would be allowed to relocate under legally approved conditions. Accepting the demands of the hawkers’ unions, she gave all hawkers a month’s time to move their hawking spaces to the legally sanctioned one-third of the footpath. To implement these conditions, she directed the formation of a high-level committee which would include representatives of hawker unions, with the decision to review the situation after a month.

Meanwhile, Godi media and a group of opponents have begun singing the gleefully false tunes of “Hawkers are being evicted” (evictions did, however, take place in a few locations) out into the news–claims which have been debunked by the hawkers themselves. Their attempts at rabble rousing by weaponising the isolated cases of bulldozing led by the overzealous police have not really gained much momentum. It goes without saying that the incidences of bulldozing that took place–however few or isolated–are unfair and doubtlessly excessive. They ceased after the clarifications of the June 27 meeting.

In the last few days, over the chaos of hawker eviction, all the fight and fury that the Chief Minister had demonstrated about a series of problems in the state during the June 24 meeting has been somewhat overlooked. She did not just express concerns over encroached roads and footpaths. She spoke of the sand mafia, coal mafia, land mafia, deficiency in municipal services, extortion by leaders and police, illegal construction, grabbing of government land, greed and money-making by public representatives, cut money, etc. The question that she raised was: why, after the numerous wellness schemes and public subsidies, after the general economic improvement, should the state carry the stain of corruption, mismanagement and administrative failure! The Chief Minister's concern, fervour and protest against her own government and party, may remind one–in spite of perspective and ideological differences–of the ineffable rallying cry of the Cultural Revolution of 1966: ‘Aim the cannons for the headquarters’!

Needless to say, the Lok Sabha 2024 elections proved to be a tough fight for the TMC. Pinned by attacks from various fronts–accusations of corruption, ED-CBI raids, arrests or daily summons of leaders, constant (targeted) harassment or (legal) defeats in courts, the lawlessness of Sandeshkhali leaders, the shrill cries of the Godi media–considering all of this, the struggle to win was considerably difficult. Nevertheless, they won beyond all hopes, riding on two factors– 1) flagship programs like ‘Lakshmi Bhandar’, ‘Swasthya Sathi’, ‘Kanyashree’, ‘Rupashree’ etc which served the masses and their livelihoods, and 2) the overall economic health of the government was not too poor. According to NITI Aayog, the percentage of the population living below the multidimensional poverty index (2023) across the country is 11.28, while in West Bengal it is 8.6 percent. And despite all the narratives about development, it is 9.03 percent in Gujarat. That is, poverty is higher in Gujarat than in West Bengal. Additionally, West Bengal's GSDP (or state income) is growing and the debt-to-income ratio has reached a sustainable level, although it can’t be said that the dangers are entirely over.

And yet, in spite of this fairly solid economic base and the effectiveness and outreach of public wellness schemes in the state, why does TMC’s vote count in the urban areas look far from promising? This is the question that has been bothering TMC leadership. Firstly, a section of the upper-class, upper-class voters had planned to vote for BJP on religious grounds. That aside, secondly, another large section of the urban voters turned away from TMC this time, mainly because of rampant corruption and malfeasance of the leaders, and various failures of the municipalities. The deep and widespread corruption prevalent in the education sector, and the non-recruitment of primary teachers, in spite of adequate qualifications and even after prolonged protest demonstrations, has sparked outrage among the middle and lower-middle class.

The common people did not take well to the arrogance and bigotry of many local leaders. Along with this, a large section of the people is furious due to mismanagement of basic services: roads, electricity, drainage, and drinking water supply, and increasing promoter-perpetrated violence. The Trinamool leadership has belatedly realised that corruption and negligence in public service are causing significant damage to the party. Driven by that epiphany, the Chief Minister has fired cannons against her own party and government, which may perhaps be seen as justified at least to some extent. TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee has already declared–perform or perish.

Now, the question is–now that the disease is diagnosed, will there be a cure? There are two aspects to this question, or rather, two opposing views. The first is to perceive TMC as baser than a political group and Mamata Banerjee as lower than a human being. There is a staunch group of self-proclaimed pundits, intellectuals, and ‘pure’ gentlemen, who are blind believers of this perspective and are constantly stricken at the prospect of Mamata Banerjee completing her three-term chief ministership. They are perpetually plagued by Mamata-phobia. This kind presently comprises an increasingly dwindling number of outliers.

But the second group is diversely constituted. There are some that worship Mamata; but putting them aside, there is another strong current of a similar purview, carried by those that consider Mamata Banerjee as a very strong and mature political leader. Some say that she has introduced a new political-economic current not only in West Bengal but across the country. Leaders like Bratya Basu compare Mamata Banerjee with the leadership of the Latin American Left. Today, following the footsteps of 'Lakshmir Bhandar', schemes like 'Ladli Bahin' and 'Mahalakshmi Bhandar' have been introduced in other parts of the country. Of course, this does not mean that Mamata Banerjee is above criticism. Over the years, TMC too has remained silent on the issue of corruption, and would perhaps have remained so, had they not faced the brunt of it. Today, perhaps shaken by the blows they suffered during the elections; they are making some attempts to correct themselves.

Now it remains to be seen if the cannons fired by the Chief Minister from Nabanna can really destroy the lawlessness rampant in the state! Possibilities of both hope and despair remain.

[Translated from original Bengali by Sohini Sengupta. Courtesy: EkakMatra]

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Vol 57, No. 3, Jul 14 - 20, 2024