CM, lead and let others bicker - Congress sends Mamata a message through Jairam’s repartee and Pranab’s restraint SANJAY K. JHA AND BARUN GHOSH

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CM, lead and let others bicker - Congress sends Mamata a message through Jairam's repartee and Pranab's restraint SANJAY K. JHA AND BARUN GHOSH Pranab Mukherjee and Jairam Ramesh at the Congress meeting at Netaji Indoor Stadium in Calcutta. Picture by Pabitra Das Nov. 20: The Congress wants Mamata Banerjee to refine the art of political communication. This is the message the Congress is trying to send to the chief minister through the repartee-savvy Jairam Ramesh who slung a few more barbs today at a Congress-sponsored event at Netaji Indoor Stadium in Calcutta. The Union minister devoted himself to that assignment, iterating his "VRS" swipe and adding that the Congress was not an NGO that goes by unsolicited advice. Ramesh was making an oblique reference to Mamata's advice to the Congress on Friday to make up its mind whether to stay in the alliance in the state and at the Centre or continue to agitate against her party as the Youth Congress did that day on the streets of Calcutta. State-level Congress leaders known for baiting Mamata joined Ramesh with glee today, drawing applause from "20,000" party supporters who slaked their thirst for settling scores after months of silence. (See charts) However, the Congress ensured that there was a clear division of labour. Pranab Mukherjee, the senior-most Congressman on the stage for the panchayati raj convention, did not make any adverse remark on the alliance leader in Bengal and stuck to the theme of the meeting, though he acknowledged the big turnout. Congress leaders in Delhi said this was precisely what they hoped Mamata would also practise: leave the public airing of grievances to her lieutenants and desist from personally taking up cudgels every time an irritant creeps in. Trying to teach Mamata, billed as Bengal's Great Communicator who has outsmarted the Congress at every negotiating table, is an audacious task but the Congress feels it has earned the right as manager of an alliance at the Centre. Mamata, who will be in Delhi this week, did not make any comment in public today and is learnt to have advised at least one Trinamul leader not to get caught in a game of repartees with Ramesh. The Congress high command was particularly taken aback by the "you-want-to-be-with-us-or-not" tone in Mamata's statements on Friday, since no one foresees the possibility of an immediate break-up. "Sonia Gandhi wouldn't have issued such threats to any ally under any circumstance," a Congress leader told The Telegraph. "What can be worse than Mamata herself talking separation? We want the alliance; we consider Mamata a very valuable friend. The issue is to run the alliance better, not to separate." Congress sources in Delhi recalled the "so-be-it" statement of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during UPA I rule. "Such phrases should be used only when you have made up your mind, which is what the Prime Minister did," a source said. The sources pointed out that neither Mukherjee, the party's main political interlocutor, nor Shakeel Ahmed, who represents Sonia in Bengal, had spoken against Trinamul, the chief minister or the state government. The sources said Ramesh, who is a senior leader, had the responsibility of showing solidarity with state leaders whose dismay was reflected in the speeches of Deepa Das Munshi and Adhir Chowdhury. Congress leaders in Delhi have noted with curiosity the enthusiastic claps the speeches of Ramesh, Adhir and Deepa evoked. Asked if the tough line had the high command's sanction, a leader said: "It is not done through sanctions. It is normal to articulate the worker's feelings at some level. This is what the safety-valve theory is: use it to let off steam. But the leaders who take decisions will maintain coalition dharma." Instead of jumping into the fray, Mamata could have asked her juniors to debate with the Congress MPs who were articulating their concerns, a source said. "Once the leader draws a line, that is sacred. We should keep layers of deniability in politics. Can you anticipate what will happen if Sonia or Rahul or even Pranab speaks the language of Adhir and Deepa? Mamata should understand this as she has to play a long innings in politics," a senior AICC functionary said. The Congress often uses this tactic, for which Digvijaya Singh has emerged as the protagonist. While Manmohan and Sonia never spoke harshly about Anna Hazare, Digvijaya was allowed to throw some punches. Similarly, Sonia never speaks against the other knotty ally Sharad Pawar but others in the Congress do. The CAG controversy is also a classic case in point. Mukherjee, being the voice of the government, keeps issuing certificates of good conduct to Vinod Rai but individual Congress leaders attack him.

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