Wives of two high-profile men have put West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in trouble. One is Ratna Chatterjee, estranged wife of Kolkata Mayor Sovon Chatterjee and the other is Hasin Jahan, wife of cricketer Mohammed Shami.
While Ratna is Mamata's personal obligation, Hasin is her political obligation.
Ratna was the woman, who used to be at Mamata’s side when she was on a hunger strike for 26 days against Singur land acquisition of the then left front government. Chatterjee has always been loyal to Mamata and has served her like a family member—perhaps sometimes more than that. His wife, Ratna, also a Trinamool Congress activist, left her six-months-old child at home to remain with a seriously sick Mamata. She was always seen besides the bed of Mamata at Metro Channel in Kolkata which happened to be the home for the TMC chief for 26 days. She was lying on a stage without food and has often been treated by a group of doctors round the clock. Ratna earnestly served the “lady god” of her husband.
More than a decades after that, Ratna is again in touch with Mamata, sources have confirmed. She said, “Whatever has happened in my life, I have the blessings of Didi.”
Many of the TMC leaders said Mamata was furious when she learned that Chatterjee had filed a divorce suit against Ratna. She even asked him not to attend party meeting. Chatterjee’s party portfolios (he held many posts) were taken back one by one. Sources said the matter reached to a point of no return and Mamata was all set to ask him to resign from the cabinet and from the post of Kolkata corporation chief.
The person, who was the bone of contention, is a lady college teacher and also a TMC member. She is now supposed to have taken a special place in the mayor’s life. The teacher was asked to step down from the state college teachers’ body post, which is affiliated to Trinamool.
However, on the advice of a very senior member of Mamata’s cabinet, who is also known as a guide of Mamata in her long political journey, the chief minister has stopped short of taking harsh steps against Chatterjee.
The senior leader, reportedly, told her, “It’s all his personal life and the party has got nothing to do with it till that hampers party’s image. And it has not done so yet.”
The leader also cautioned her that the mayor was being wooed by the BJP as he was facing Narada sting operation bribery case.
But the mayor’s wife still wants her husband back. Mamata, however, is unable to convince her disciple.
Hasin has also knocked on the door of Mamata for getting her cricketer husband back to her life or arrested. She has filed multiple complaints against Shami with the Kolkata police. An investigation has already been started but all are not in the hands of the police as Shami is a cricketer under the BCCI and the board is also investigating a part of the allegations that is related to corruption and mach fixing. A Pakistani lady had “honey-trapped” Shami to reveal many information, Hasin alleged.
“The investigation is moving in slow pace and I want the CM’s intervention,” Hasin said.
Hasin surprisingly received an appointment of Mamata on Friday. This has been seen as a political obligation as Mamata last year had refused an appointment to another Muslim woman, Israt Jahan, who was fighting a case in the Supreme Court to ban Triple Talaq.
Ishrat had said, “I wrote three letters and the chief minister. She, who claims herself to be a pro-Muslim politician, did not respond to one let alone meeting me.”
As a result, BJP drafted Ishrat into their party and Mamata faced criticism from several quarters.
The chief minister did not do that to Hasin as she doesn't want the BJP to gain any political mileage from this issue.